


Kannibale

by naomin



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-14
Updated: 2014-05-06
Packaged: 2018-01-08 16:33:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 23,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1134937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naomin/pseuds/naomin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After complications lead to an extension of Eren's time in the custody of the Military Police after the trial, Erwin finds himself in an unforeseen situation.  (From the kinkmeme: Erwin discovers that Eren has been abused.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> As it says in the summary, this was inspired by a prompt on the SNK kinkmeme, which I sort of took and ran with in a direction that's possibly not quite what the OP had in mind. Unfortunately, I am obscenely slow at updating, so I'm posting it here as well in the hopes that maybe anyone who's given up on the fill can see that I'm still working on it and keep track of it. 
> 
> This fic will contain mentions of physical/sexual abuse (to a child, since Eren is 15 as per canon) throughout, but no graphic descriptions. It's based on the premise/AU that Eren wasn't immediately handed over to the Survey Corps after the trial.

 

           Three days.  That was the amount of time necessary for the official transfer of Eren Yeager from the custody of the Military Police to the Survey Corps to be processed, Erwin was told.  It seemed like a rather long time, but nobody could deny how complicated and unusual the entire affair was, and Erwin knew as well as any other officer how long it could take to get any kind of paperwork passed through the right circuits.  And anyway, all of them could rest knowing that their immediate worries were over, at least the set of immediate worries concerning a certain teenage boy with powers of transformation and a single-minded passion for killing titans.  The trial had been a success, Levi’s violent little demonstration being sufficient to convince everyone that the Survey Corps was the right place for Eren.  And afterwards, even though the transfer wouldn’t be officially complete for another few days, Zackly had made it clear that the trial’s ruling was to be respected immediately.  Though Eren would remain in the hands of the Military Police for the time being, he was no longer to be treated as a criminal in the way that he had been before the trial, and the Survey Corps had the right to access Eren at any time. 

            The day after the trial, Erwin had stopped by the place where Eren was being kept (a secure room in a building belonging to the Military Police that couldn’t have been called “cozy” by any stretch of the imagination, but was still quite a step up from the dungeons), tagging along with Hange, who was eager to begin investigating Eren’s abilities.  Eren had been happy to see them, and seemed none the worse for everything that he had gone through recently.  Slightly after sunrise the next morning, just as Erwin was about to return to his own room in hopes of catching a few hours of sleep after brainstorming plans for the next expedition all night, he received urgent news.  A small group of particularly skilled Survey Corps soldiers had been sent out beyond the walls a little over a week earlier, in the hopes of gaining more knowledge about the geography outside of the walls.  One member of that group had just returned, injured and delirious.  All of the others had been killed.  Erwin spent the day overseeing efforts to coax as much information as possible out of the survivor, who had been rendered almost incoherent by the things she had seen, and trying to figure out what had gone wrong.  As he was poring over accounts of the catastrophic mission’s preparations in his office, he thought of Eren, and tried to remember whether or not anyone had gone to see him that day.  He was going to ask Levi, but the next thing he knew he was opening his eyes to a room cast into shadow, and the realization that he had been asleep at his desk for several hours.

            The third day after Eren’s trial, the Survey Corps was still addressing the aftermath of the failed mission.  A few of the families of the fallen soldiers wanted to meet with Erwin.  While he normally didn’t make a practice of comforting the grieving (if he did, he would never have time for anything else), he felt that in this case he owed at least this much to the dead men and women who had given so much for humanity.  He was surprised to realize that some of the parents looked no older than himself, even though, Erwin thought, that was surely impossible.  At one point, he suddenly realized that he had received no news of Eren’s transfer.  No confirmation yet, he was told.  Must be taking longer than expected.  These things happen.  On another day, Erwin would have responded with sharp words about how crucial Eren’s place with the Survey Corps was, but the events of the last forty-eight hours had left him drained, and in the end all he did was nod his assent before returning to his office, where a pile of paperwork officially documenting the most recent casualties waited for him. 

            Erwin did find time to go see Eren that day, just as the sun was setting.  The boy was uncharacteristically quiet, and spent most of the brief visit fiddling with the hem of his shirt, rarely glancing up.  Erwin felt mildly annoyed, wondering if the boy was sulking over being ignored for a few days, before pushing the uncharitable thought out of his mind.  Eren must be unhappy about having to stay with the Military Police for another day, he reasoned, and that was understandable.  Or maybe he was just tired, it was late enough in the day for that.  Erwin was certainly plenty tired himself.  After several half-hearted attempts at engaging Eren in conversation went nowhere, Erwin took his leave, bidding Eren goodnight.  Eren nodded, but didn't even look up to watch Erwin go.  He remained motionless in his chair, shoulders hunched and fingers twiddling a loose thread from his shirt, and then one of the guards outside the room (for Eren’s own protection, they had been told, which seemed reasonable) pushed the door shut and Eren was blocked from Erwin’s view. 

 

 -          

           That night, Erwin was woken by the sound of someone banging frantically on his door.  It was a low-ranking member of the Military Police, someone he didn’t recognize, with a panicked expression that told Erwin immediately that this was something serious.     

           “What is it?”  Erwin asked, feeling the haze of sleep slipping away like a heavy blanket. 

           “You have to come at once, commander!  It’s that titan, he-“

           “A titan?”  Erwin demanded, already turning to grab his clothing and gear before he even realized he was doing so.  “Are the walls damaged?”

           “Oh…not that, sir.”  The messenger calmed down slightly, seeming to realize how much he had alarmed Erwin.  “The one who’s with us.  That boy from the trial.”

           “Eren?”  Erwin’s shoulders slumped with relief, before a new set of concerns occurred to him.  If something had happened to Eren-

           “He tried to transform, sir.  Right inside his room.  The guards on duty were able to restrain him in time, but you need to come right away.”

-

            The military police officer quickly lead the way through the darkened streets to the building where Erwin had visited Eren less than a day earlier.  Even though it was late, Erwin could see that all the lights were on inside, and the building hummed with activity.  Concern growing, he pushed in front of his guide and began to walk quickly towards Eren’s room, only stopping when he recognized a familiar face in his path. 

            “Erwin.”

            “What’s going on, Nile?”

            The military police chief’s expression was set in a heavy frown.  “Eren’s guard noticed that he was acting strangely shortly after he arrived for his shift, a little less than an hour ago.  When the guard went in to see what was going on, Eren attacked him.”

            “ _Attacked_ him?”

          A nod.  “The guard attempted to subdue Eren, and when Eren realized he was losing…” Nile’s frown deepened in disgust. “He tried to bite himself.  It’s fortunate that the guard realized what he was doing in time, and was able to stop him before he transformed.  He was able to call for backup, and Eren was successfully restrained.”

            Erwin found himself briefly shaking his head as if he still needed to wake himself up, struggling to make sense of what he was hearing.  The seriousness of the situation had already sunk in like a dull weight on his shoulders, and a part of his mind was already calculating the damage this could do to his own plans for Eren.  However, the overwhelming feeling was incredulity, so strong that it almost surprised Erwin himself.  _Eren_ had attacked someone?  The boy who had been nothing but agreeable, if somewhat confused, throughout all his interactions with Erwin and the rest of the Survey Corps during the past few days? 

            _Except…_ An image of Eren slumped sullenly in his chair, only a few hours ago, suddenly floated through Erwin’s mind.  Surely it had only been the moodiness of a teenager forced to remain under less-than-ideal circumstances for longer than he had been promised, and nothing more sinister- He pushed the thought aside.  No matter what had been going on in Eren’s mind, Erwin had taken the boy as his responsibility.  It was his duty to get to the bottom of whatever had happened.  “Was Eren hurt?”

            “No, but he’s lucky he wasn’t killed,”  Nile scowled.  “This changes everything, Erwin.  If that boy is really so unpredictable, he’s too dangerous to be kept alive, no matter what the circumstances.  Zackly’s going to rethink his decision once he hears about this.” 

            “I want to see him.”

            “Not possible.”  Nile gestured at the flurry of police activity taking place around them.  “My people still have lots of work to do.”

            It was Erwin’s turn to frown.  “Eren’s not under your control anymore.”

            “This incident happened while he was under the protection of the Military Police, so it’s our responsibility to handle the situation,” Nile explained.  “You can talk to Eren once we’ve found a more permanent way to ensure that it’s safe.  To begin with, he’ll have to be moved to a more secure location as soon as possible…“

            “ _To begin with,_ you’re going to let the commander in so he can do his fucking _job_ ,” a voice from slightly below Erwin’s left shoulder cut in.  Erwin glanced down and found Levi standing beside him, looking uncharacteristically disheveled (Erwin supposed he hadn’t been the only one to receive a Military Police wake-up in the middle of the night) and extremely irritated. 

            “As I just said,” Nile repeated, making no attempt to hide his annoyance at the new arrival.  “This incident falls within our jurisdiction, and it would be irresponsible to let outsiders have access to Eren before we’ve determined that it’s a good idea.”

             “The man in charge of the entire military said that Eren’s with us, so drop the ‘jurisdiction’ bullshit, Nile,” snapped Levi.  “And if Eren really _is_ dangerous right now, _I_ will take care of it, like we all agreed at the trial.  Not to mention,” he added, glaring at an uncomfortable-looking officer trailing behind him, “that it was while Eren was with _you_ that this mess got started, so I’m not feeling too confident that leaving him with you is going to solve all our problems.” 

            Nile gave Levi a look that could have stopped even a rampaging Titan in its tracks, if ever such a thing could be possible.  Levi, however, was not impressed. 

            “…Very well,” Nile said bitterly.  “Do what you want.”  He gestured for the soldiers blocking the door to Eren’s room to step aside.  “But if that’s how you want this to be, it means that you take responsibility for whatever disaster that boy is capable of, Erwin,” he added.  “And remember, Commander Zackly will be _very_ interested to hear about all this.” 

            Erwin nodded, and he and Levi stepped into Eren’s room. 

-

           In contrast with the chaos that seemed to have consumed most of the building, the inside of the room itself seemed almost shockingly calm.  This was most likely due to the fact that it contained only two soldiers (who stood awkwardly to the side and exchanged uneasy glances as Erwin and Levi entered the room, as if wondering how they were expected to respond to the sudden appearance of the Survey Corps officers), and the slight figure lying across the bed in an ungainly manner, gagged as well as bound hand and foot. 

           “Eren?”  It came out sounding much less confident than Erwin had intended. 

           Eren had been facing the wall, but at the sound of Erwin’s voice he twisted around until he was able to turn himself over.  His eyes widened when he saw his two visitors, and he began to struggle against his restraints.  The two soldiers started forward in alarm, only to be cut off by a dismissive gesture from Levi. 

           “Eren, it’s me.  And Corporal Levi.”  Well, that much was obvious, but Erwin found himself at loss as to where to begin this conversation.  During the past few days, the possibility of finding himself in a situation like this had hardly crossed his mind. 

           Maybe he had been naïve to think that Eren would be so easy to manage, a gloomy voice inside his head whispered.  Maybe they had all been so taken in by Eren’s youth and enthusiasm that they had failed to take the uncertainty and risk that the boy represented seriously enough, and now, here they were with this…this mess, Levi had called it, and that was an understatement, if anything.  It had been hard enough to prove Eren’s potential right after the boy had helped humanity at Trost.  It would be near impossible to do so if the boy had really gone berserk and turned on a military officer with no warning. 

           “Commander Dok sent for us.”  Erwin continued.  Keep a level head and get to the truth of things, that was the only thing to do at a time like this.  “He said you tried to transform.”

           At this, the boy’s eyes widened again, and he yelled something intelligible, voice muffled by the gag.  He continued to thrash around, though it did little good except to send him dangerously close to falling off the bed. 

           “ _Eren_.”  Erwin added a hint of steel to his voice, using the tone that usually had even the most hysterical young soldier snapping to attention.  Eren gave no sign of having even heard him.

           “For fuck’s sake, this is idiotic,” Levi snapped, pacing over to the bed.  Unfazed by Eren’s struggles, and despite the fact that the boy was several inches taller than him, the corporal managed to grasp Eren by his hair.  Only once his head was pulled back at an angle that looked rather uncomfortable did Eren finally still, allowing Levi to continue.  “ _Listen_ , you noisy brat, do you have any idea how much shit you’ve put us in with whatever little stunt you’ve pulled?  The commander’s here to do what he can to keep you from getting turned into somebody’s live titan anatomy lesson, so if you have an ounce of sense in your head I suggest you pay _very_ close attention to him right now.” 

           Eren appeared to have calmed down considerably by the time this speech had ended, though his chest still heaved from his earlier exertions.  His eyes flickered back and forth between Erwin and Levi.

           “Do you _understand_?”  Levi punctuated this question with another jerk to Eren’s head.  His patience was evidently in especially short supply.    

           Eren nodded, and Levi released his head and worked at the gag until it was loose enough that he could pull it out of Eren’s mouth.  He then wiped his hand dry on the younger boy’s shirt, shooting him a withering look.  Apparently, Eren had worked up quite a bit of drool with his earlier yelling. 

           “Are you ready to listen to me, Eren?”  Erwin asked, taking a seat in the same chair he had sat in roughly six hours earlier.  The feeling of uncertainty hadn’t gone away, but at least he was relieved that Levi had gotten Eren out of his earlier frenzy.  The two Military Police officers in the room seemed impressed by that, if nothing else. 

           “Yes, sir.”  Eren sounded hoarse and out of breath. 

           “Did you try to transform?” 

           A pause.  Eren looked uncharacteristically stricken, and he twisted his head to the side, avoiding Erwin’s gaze.  (For a second Levi looked as though he was about to yank the boy’s head up again, before apparently thinking better of it.)  Finally, Eren gave an uncomfortable little twitch that, Erwin realized with a sinking heart, was meant as a nod.

           “You did?”

           “Yes, sir.” 

           “Do you realize how serious this is, Eren?” 

            “Yes.”  Eren was practically talking into the blankets on the bed at this point.  From where Erwin sat, Eren’s eyes were obscured by his hair, but what he could see of his face was flushed with shame. 

           “Look at me.”  It came out sounding harsher than he had meant, but Erwin couldn’t avoid the wave of anger that swept through him when Nile’s description of events was confirmed.  How could the boy gamble with their plans, with the entire fate of humanity? 

           Eren dutifully began the awkward process of turning himself over, movements limited by the cuffs binding his hands and feet together.  After a few seconds of this, Levi hoisted him up into a sitting position against the wall.  While the corporal’s mood showed no sign of lightening, Erwin supposed that Eren could at least be thankful that Levi chose to grab him by the back of his shirt this time, not his hair.

           In this new position, Erwin had the chance to get a better look at Eren then he had upon first entering the room.  The boy was dressed in simple sleeping clothes.  Other than his obviously emotional state and the uncomfortable-looking restraints, he seemed none the worse for wear.  _But you wouldn’t be able to tell_ , the voice in the back of Erwin’s mind whispered.  _Remember that tooth, remember what Hange told you about what that boy’s body can do_ …

           Erwin could feel a headache forming dully inside his skull.  He allowed himself to briefly massage his temples as he formed his next words.

           Only one question came to mind.  “Why, Eren?”

            “I’m sorry, sir.”  The boy sounded small and defeated.  His manacled hands were clenched. 

           “I didn’t ask if you were sorry, I need to know _why_.”  No response.  Erwin had a sudden and unpleasant flashback to his last meeting with Eren.  “ _Eren_ -“  His words were cut off when the door swung open again, allowing the lanky figure of a third Survey Corps officer to enter the room.  Mike Zacharius nodded to Erwin and Levi, looking unsurprised by Eren’s condition.  Erwin supposed that the Military Police had already explained the situation to him.

           “Eren, was there a problem with the guards?”  Erwin asked, mentally running through a list of possible reasons for the boy’s strange behavior. 

           An unreadable expression passed across Eren’s features, but he said nothing.  Just as Erwin though he was going to have to order him to speak again, Eren finally shook his head.  “No, sir.” 

           “Did something happen to frighten you?” 

           Another shake of the head.  “No, sir.”

           “So you just decided to transform, for no reason?” 

           No response.  Discomfort twisted Eren’s face, and he could no longer look Erwin in the eye.  From his position next to Eren on the bed, Levi raised his eyebrows, as if silently asking if Erwin wanted him to take a turn with the questioning. 

           Erwin was suddenly hit with a wave of frustration at their situation.  Here it was, the middle of the night, and instead of getting work done, or even enjoying the few hours of sleep they could get, three of the Survey Corps’ best (at _least_ three - if they had called Mike out, for all he knew it would only be a matter of time before _Hange,_ or who knows who else, came through the door), were out in some little building crawling with Military Police officers, trying to coax words out of a moody teenage boy who apparently thought it was acceptable to undermine everything Erwin and Levi had worked for over the past few days, and then refuse to speak to them.  Erwin got to his feet and walked over to Eren’s bed.

           “I don’t have time to play games, Eren.”  The steel was back in Erwin’s voice, and this time it might have had some effect, because the boy looked absolutely miserable as he gazed up at Erwin.  Erwin found that at that moment, he didn’t care.  “The Survey Corps has more important concerns than you could possibly imagine right now, and we don’t need something like this on top of it all.  I’m going to do my best to convince everyone that you should be kept alive, but after this, I can’t promise anything.  If you can’t stop sulking like a child and explain yourself, you can stay with the Military Police until we figure out what’s going to happen to you next.  I have other things to do.”

           Silence.  Eren wasn’t looking at up at him anymore. 

           “Well?” _He_ was being childish now, taking out his annoyance on Eren like this, but the boy had just handed him the _last_ thing he needed when things were barely beginning to settle down after the chaos the last few days-

           “Commander,” a low voice from behind him interrupted, and Erwin almost jumped.  He had almost forgotten that Mike had entered the room earlier.  The squad leader had come closer, and was giving him a pointed look.  “A word outside?”

           “Oh,” Erwin’s shoulder’s slumped, releasing tension that he hadn’t been quite aware had built up.  “Yes.  Of course.”

            It was with no small amount of relief that he stepped into the hallway with Mike, leaving Eren with Levi and the two guards.  The level of activity had dropped somewhat.  A young woman wearing a Military Police uniform handed Erwin a hot drink, which he accepted gratefully.

           “I shouldn’t have lost my temper.” Erwin muttered, after the woman had left and he and Mike had relative privacy in their part of the hall.  He took a sip of his drink, letting the warm liquid sink into his tired body. 

           Mike nodded in acknowledgement.  “Something happened to him, Commander.”

           Erwin sighed.  “Maybe.  But you saw how things were back there.  Unless Eren gives us his side of events, it's not going to be easy to clear this up.  Nile was so damn satisfied that this would make Zackly rethink his decision…and he could be right.  It’s unacceptable for Eren to be this unpredictable.” 

           Mike gazed off down the mostly-empty hallway, a grim expression on his face.  “He smelled like fear.  And…”

           “If you’re trying to say something, spit it out.”  Erwin raised his mug to his lips again, savoring the warmth as he began to think of what he might say to Zackly when he was inevitably called to give a statement about the night’s events.  “I’ve spent enough time trying to pull answers out of people tonight.” 

           “I think he was…hurt.”  Mike seemed to hesitate for a second, before bitterly pressing on.  “I think Eren was raped, Commander.” 

           Erwin blinked, almost choking on his drink.  All thoughts of the future uncomfortable conversation with Zackly had disappeared. 

           "What?”

 

 


	2. Part Two

 

           “They did something to him,” Levi said in a low voice, as soon as the door to Eren’s room had closed behind him.  Erwin and Mike had talked for only a short time before the door had swung open and Levi had interrupted, asking for a chance to speak to Erwin outside.  Mike wordlessly stepped back into the room as Levi stepped out.  Without even having had the chance to fully discuss the situation they had found themselves in, the three men had apparently reached a silent agreement that Eren would no longer be left by himself. 

           “Eren won’t say a word, but it’s obvious,” Levi continued.  Erwin had been about to tell him that he and Mike had come to the same conclusion just minutes earlier, but Levi showed no sign of noticing that the other man wanted to speak. “The brat’s an idiot, but there’s no way he’d pick a fight over nothing with a soldier in the middle of the night like Nile said.  And all you have to do is look at him to see that something’s wrong.  Shit,” Levi shook his head.   “Don’t know what he’s thinking, trying to hide it from us….” His face was set in a frown, and the annoyed attitude of earlier that night was gone.  Erwin could see that a darker emotion had taken its place. 

           “Mike said the same thing.”  Erwin replied.  He paused for a second, briefly looking for the best way to word what he had to say, before giving up.  There was no place for shying away from the facts in his position, whether they were the gory details of the latest engagement with the Titans or…whatever this was.  “We’re afraid it might be rape.”

           “ _Shit_.”  It was clear from the tone of Levi’s voice that the thought had crossed his mind already.  Erwin nodded wordlessly.  They had the hallway to themselves, though the sounds of police activity could still be heard from elsewhere in the building. 

           Another moment of silence, until Levi sighed in a way that could have suggested either frustration or resignation, before fixing Erwin with an expectant look.  “What now?”

           “Well,” Erwin started, and then realized that he had not the faintest idea of how to continue.  He was aware of his reputation as a skilled strategist within military circles, but he would have been hard-pressed to imagine a scenario more outside of his area of specialization than this. 

           “He can’t _stay_ here." 

           “Of course not.” If Levi had noticed that his commander had been momentarily at a loss for words, he gave no sign of it, for which Erwin was grateful.  “Eren leaves with us tonight.  If Nile wants to argue about it…Well, I have some things to say to him already.”

           Levi nodded, face grim.

           “Actually, can you get him out of here now?”  Erwin asked.  His mind had begun to race, predicting what the possible outcomes of the situation could be, and evaluating his options.  This was a role Erwin had found himself in countless times before, and now it was almost relaxing, in a way, to fall back into it.  “I’ll handle Nile, but I don’t think he’s going to like what I’ll have to say, and Eren can’t stay like this any longer.  If you move now, you could be far away before too many people notice he’s gone.  I don’t think the two in there…“ he nodded towards the door, “…will give you much trouble-“ 

           “Like to see them try,” Levi snapped.  Erwin could see the other man’s hands clench into fists at his sides, seemingly unconsciously, and Levi’s voice was tight with disgust.  “Fucking worthless, the lot of them, letting this happen right under their noses…”

           It was Erwin’s turn to nod.  “Tell Mike that I’ll meet up with all of you as soon as I talk to Nile, and then we can get to the bottom of all this.” 

           “Who the fuck knows,” Levi muttered darkly.  

           Erwin looked down at him in surprise.  “Is there a problem?”

           Levi shook his head, grimacing slightly. “No.  It’s just, that bra…Eren really wouldn’t say a single damn word to me when I was back there with him, even when I could tell from the look on his face that what I was saying was hitting home.  Kid’s got his mouth shut tighter than a gate out of Wall Rose, the idiot.”  Despite the harsh words, the expression on Levi’s face looked like one of…regret, if anything, Erwin realized.  “I wonder if he’ll let us try to get involved, even after he’s out of here…”

           “Of course he will,” Erwin cut in firmly.  “Concentrate on getting him out of this building for now, and don’t worry about the rest of it.” 

           Levi nodded curtly, a look of grim determination on his face.  “Got it.  I’ll see you at headquarters.”

           “Thank you, Levi.”  Erwin replied.  This, too, was a brief instance of reassuring familiarity.  They had shared similar exchanges before countless missions over the past years, and Erwin felt suddenly and extremely thankful to whichever overzealous member of the Military Police had decided to summon so many high-ranking Survey Corps officers that night. 

           Levi nodded one more time, before spinning around and opening the door to Eren’s room with such force that it bounced off the wall with a loud bang and swung closed again behind him.  Erwin could hear the faint sounds of Levi barking orders, as well as the confused voices of the two Military Police officers, as he turned from the door of Eren’s room and walked down the hall, looking for Nile.

 

-

 

           “He was _what?_ ” Nile snapped, glaring at Erwin.  Erwin had found him in a small office in a different wing of the building, which bore a striking resemblance to Erwin’s own office at the Survey Corps headquarters, the one difference being the large number of Military Police officers currently crowding the small room and glancing from their commander to Erwin with varying degrees of unease. 

           “I have good reason to believe that Eren has been abused by someone under your command,”  Erwin repeated.  “Tell your men to leave us, Nile.  This is a sensitive matter.” 

           “If you have something to say, you can say it right now, Erwin.”  Nile growled.  “The Military Police are still investigating that boy’s unprovoked attack on one of our own officers.  I told you, this matter is out of your reach right now.” 

           “It wasn’t unprovoked.”  Erwin met Nile’s eyes with a firm stare as he gazed down at the Military Police commander from his position in front of Nile’s desk.  The other man had neglected to offer him a chair when he had entered.  “Eren was hurt by one of your own officers. Levi, Mike, and I all agree that he may have even been sexually assaulted.”

           “ _Sexually_ -!” Nile’s face darkened with anger.  “How _dare_ you make such a disgusting claim about one of my officers!?  If you think that something like this is going to help your case with Zackly...”

           “I don’t care about him now, Nile.  The fact of the matter is that Eren isn’t the one to blame here.” 

           “He told you all this, I suppose,”  Nile scowled.  “I know we’ve had our differences on occasion, Erwin, but I can’t believe you’d take the word of that... _creature_ against a fellow soldier.”

           “Eren didn’t tell us anything.”  Erwin admitted.

           Nile fixed Erwin with a look of incredulous frustration.  ‘Then where the hell are you getting all this from?”

           “He’s been too upset to speak to anybody.”  Erwin countered.  “It’s obvious that something happened, Nile, do you really believe that he’d be fine for days and then suddenly turn on us for no reason?” 

           “A few weeks ago I wouldn’t have even thought someone like him could _exist_ ,” Nile responded bitterly, but Erwin could see that the man was considering his words.  There was a brief, uneasy silence, before Nile spoke again.  “ _If_ there _is_ more to this…incident, it just makes it even more important that the Military Police handle this investigation carefully.  I’ll make sure that the boy is guarded by my top soldiers until we get to the truth of the matter…“

           “That won’t be necessary.” Erwin interrupted, making sure that he spoke with calmness that he was certain Nile would not share after he heard what Erwin had to say next.  “I’ve already instructed Corporal Levi to escort Eren to our headquarters.”

           Nile had been far from happy earlier, but now he looked like he was about to explode.  “ _What???”_

           “Eren Yeager is now in the care of the Survey Corps, as he should have been since the trial ended.  Not to mention that since we believe that a member of the Military Police has seriously mistreated him, it’s best for his own safety that he be removed from here.”

           “You’re _insane,”_ Nile replied.  Erwin had the strong impression that, if not for the desk separating them, the other man would have been throttling him with great relish by now.   “You know how dangerous that boy could be, no, how dangerous he _is_ , and you have your men just…just _waltz_ right out of a secure location with him?” 

           “Levi’s with him.”  Erwin answered mildly.  Though he didn’t look away from Nile, he was aware of the shock and anger that had begun to ripple through the other Military Police officers in the room.  “Eren’s better off with Levi than anywhere else, for his sake _and_ everyone else’s.  That was the agreement we all reached days ago, Nile.”

           “To _hell_ with the agreement!” Nile snarled.  He turned to a nearby soldier, seething with rage.  “Get Commander Zackly, right now.  I want him to know _exactly_ the mess that Commander Erwin and his Titan-boy have caused here tonight.  And _you-_ “ He pointed a finger at Erwin with as much violence as if it had been a loaded musket.  “If you try to go _anywhere_ before he gets here, I’ll have you chained up just like that boy was, Sina help me, I will.  I’d have my men go and recover Eren right now, if it wouldn’t cause a commotion and make our problems even bigger.” 

           Erwin moved to stand by the wall, out of the way of the soldiers rushing in and out of the small office.  He estimated it would be a good half-hour before Zackly arrived, even under such urgent conditions.  His mind turned to Eren, remembering how miserable the boy had looked when Erwin had spoken to him harshly earlier that night.  Erwin suddenly felt very, very, tired.

 

-

 

           “So, if I understand correctly,” Commander-in-chief Darius Zackly adjusted his glasses and gazed sternly at the two men standing at attention in front of him.  “…Earlier tonight, Eren Yeager and a member of the Military Police Squad had a violent encounter, in which Eren almost transformed into his Titan form.  Because of this, he was placed under increased security.”  Nile nodded, his face still flushed with anger.  “When Commander Smith was informed…” Zackly continued, “…He had some of his officers transport Eren to the Survey Corps headquarters, without the knowledge of the Military Police.”

           “Yes, Commander.”  Erwin agreed. 

           “And you believe that this was necessary because you suspect that Eren has been abused by someone in the Military Police?”

           “Yes,” Erwin repeated with a nod.  “I’ve seen Eren several times since the trial, and there have been no problems with his behavior until now.  When my officers and I arrived tonight, we all noticed that something had upset him greatly.  I suspect that Eren was attacked, and attempted to transform out of desperation.”

           Zackly nodded seriously.  “And what does Eren have to say for himself?” 

           “He’s…very upset, Commander, as I said-“

           “Did the boy claim that someone had hurt him, Erwin?” 

           “He hasn’t said anything so far,” Erwin conceded.  “I had him taken out of here in the hopes that he would talk to us if he was somewhere else.”

           “That wasn’t your decision to make, Erwin,” Zackly frowned.  “Your actions tonight have seriously undermined the Military Police’s authority.” 

           “Exactly, Commander,” Nile snapped.  “Eren needs to be returned to our custody immediately, so that we can get to the bottom of this matter and determine what should happen to him from now on.” 

           “Silence, Nile.”  Zackly fixed Erwin with a firm stare.  “You’re that confident that the boy doesn’t pose a danger to us, Erwin?” 

           Erwin met the Commander-in-chief’s gaze evenly.  “I am.” 

           Zackly sighed.  “I’m not happy with either of you.  We decided what to do with Eren days ago, and I won’t let it create a rift within the military.  And everyone has plenty of concerns without having to worry about that boy as well.  Like you, Erwin.  I hear that we’re still waiting for a report on the Survey Corps’ most recent failure.”

           Erwin felt a twinge of bitter disappointment as he was reminded of the unlucky operation for the first time in several hours.  “We’re making progress, sir.” 

           “Very well,” Zackley nodded.  “That being said…” He reached into the pocket of his jacket and produced a small envelope stamped with an official seal, which he handed to Erwin.  “The official statement concerning Eren Yeager’s place in the custody of the Survey Corps.” 

           If it hadn’t been for his years of practice maintaining a steady and professional demeanor, Erwin’s shoulders would have sagged in relief.  “Thank you, Commander.”

           “You’re letting him have him!?” Nile sputtered angrily.  “It’s clear that under these circumstances, the Military Police are really-“

           “ _Silence_ , Nile.”  Zackley said for the second time.  “I’m not ready to rethink my original decision.  I expect the Military Police to investigate this incident thoroughly, but Eren will stay with the Survey Corps unless circumstances change.  But, Erwin…” he added. 

           “Yes?”

           “If Eren really has been abused by someone within the military, I want more than just your hunch.  Work with Nile to get to the bottom of this.  If it turns out that Eren really did attack someone for no reason, we may have to re-evaluate what’s going to happen to him.”  

           Erwin nodded, the envelope clasped tightly in his hand.  “Of course, Commander.” 

 

-

 

           Dawn was beginning to break as Erwin returned to the Survey Corps headquarters, bathing the streets in a faint glow.  He found Levi waiting in his office, alone.

            “Where’s Eren?"

            “We set him up in one of the storage rooms.  Underground, so it’s about as secure as we can get, in this building at least, and Mike and Hange are down there now.” 

            “You woke Hange up?”

            “Didn’t have to,” Levi replied.  “It’s morning, Erwin.  What kept you so long?” 

            Erwin sank into his chair, running his fingers through his hair absently.  “Nile called Zackly.”  

            “Shit, seriously?”

            “It wasn’t so bad,” Erwin pulled out the envelope Zackly had given him earlier, and tossed it Levi.  “Here’s the official transfer order.”

            “About damn time.”  Levi muttered with disdain. 

            “How’s he doing, Levi?”

            Levi was silent for a moment, frowning.  “I don’t know.  He goes along with everything we say, but we still haven’t been able to get much out of him.”

            “I’ll talk to him.”  Erwin said. 

            “Later.”  Levi replied decisively.  “Let him rest for now, he’s been up all night thanks to all this.  And so have we,” He looked Erwin up and down with a critical eye.  “You look like shit.” 

            “Mm,” Erwin replied absently, too tired and consumed with the night’s events to try to think of a clever response.   Something that Zackley had said during their meeting earlier occurred to him.  “Oh, someone needs to review the reports of the last mission as soon as possible, Levi.  If you get me the documents, you and Mike can go get some sleep for a few hours, and I’ll-“ 

            He was cut off when Levi thrust a stack of papers onto the desk before him.  Flipping through them, Erwin saw page after page outlining the details of the failed operation, each signed in Levi’s neat handwriting.  “Got so bored waiting for you that I did the whole thing,” Levi said.  “Go to bed.” 

            “Thank you, Levi.”

            “Whatever.”  Levi shrugged, which, Erwin knew, was maybe as close to a “you’re welcome,” as he could expect.  The corporal walked to the door and was about to leave, but paused, looking back at Erwin with a serious expression.  “You’re going to find out what happened,” he said.  The tone of Levi’s voice was ambiguous, and it could have been a statement or a question, or even a plea.  “To Eren, I mean.” 

            “Of course.”  Somehow, Erwin found that he was able to smile in what he sincerely hoped was a reassuring way as he said this. 

            It must have not quite done the job, because Levi raised his eyebrows and gave Erwin a pointed look, before walking out the door.  After he left, Erwin began to look over the documents Levi had signed, but after only a short time he was asleep at his desk for the second time in two days. 

 

-

 

            Later that morning, after enough time had passed for the sun to rise high in the sky and for Erwin to have several hours of much-needed sleep, he made his way down the room where Eren was being kept.

            His first impression of Eren was that the boy looked much better than he had the previous night.  The chains were gone, of course, and someone had gotten him a change of clothes.  As soon as he noticed Erwin, he jumped to his feet.

            “Commander.”  His voice was quiet, and he was staring at the ground in clear discomfort, but this was still better than most of Erwin’s other attempts at talking to Eren in the last twelve hours. 

            “Hello, Eren.”  Hopefully Erwin was better at smiling convincingly now than he had been during his conversation with Levi earlier that morning.  “I’d like to talk to you.”

            “Yes, sir,” said Eren glumly. 

            There was one chair in the small room, most likely brought there for whoever was tasked with staying with Eren.  Erwin sat, gesturing for Eren to do the same.  Eren settled himself on top of the makeshift bed someone had made on the floor out of a pile of blankets, hugging his knees.  It made him look very young. 

            “I’m sorry we couldn’t find a better room for you,” Erwin commented.  _Start out on a light subject._  

            Eren shrugged slightly.  “I don’t mind.  It’s not like it’s dirty, or anything.”  It was the most Erwin had heard him say at once in all of their recent encounters. 

            “Levi,” Erwin agreed.  Eren stared at him in confusion, and Erwin added lamely, “Corporal Levi likes to make sure the building is clean.” 

            “Oh.”

            A long silence.  Eren gaze was focused somewhere around his own knees, and Erwin could see that the boy’s brow was furrowed.  Erwin found himself suddenly and involuntarily reminded of something that had nothing to do with Eren at all.  The day before, when concerns over Eren’s treatment by the Military Police had been impossibly far from his mind, Erwin had briefly met with the family of one of the fallen Survey Corps soldiers.  The young man’s parent’s had both been in tears as Erwin praised their son’s bravery.  There had been a child with them, a boy of maybe ten years, clearly the younger brother of the dead man.  The boy had sat with a hollow expression on his face, giving no sign of paying attention to the adults’ conversation.  He was silent the entire time, even when his mother had scolded him for not thanking the commander for taking the time to see them.  The child had barely registered in Erwin’s mind at the time, but now, looking at Eren, the memory came back, unpleasantly vivid.  Erwin felt cold.  He pushed the image of the boy’s empty face aside, forcing himself to concentrate on the situation in front of him. 

            “Eren.”  He was careful to keep his voice calm, but firm.  “I want to talk about what happened last night.”

            Eren shrugged, and then, a second later added a small “Yes, sir.”

            All right.  Erwin pressed onwards.  “I believe you’ve been treated unfairly recently.  By many people, including myself.  I’d like to try and set things straight.” 

            No reply.

            “Eren, I want to know the truth.  Did one of your guards do _anything_ to you last night?”

            Silence, but what Erwin could see of Eren’s face was quickly growing red with emotion. 

            “Even if it’s something that’s hard to talk about, we need to know-" 

            “Nothing _happened!_ ” Eren burst out.  He had raised his head, and his green eyes flashed with emotion.  “I told you.  It was just…just a stupid thing I did, and that’s all.”

            “ _Eren_.”  Erwin felt a rush of disappointment.  This would be no easier than it had been in the night, then.  “I don’t accept that explanation.  That doesn’t make any sense.” 

            “Punish me if you have to,” Eren said wildly, eyes fixed on a point in the empty air to Erwin’s left.  “I…I know I’m in trouble, because I shouldn’t have tried to change like that, so I’ll take a punishment if I have to, but just...just _leave_ it.”

            “I want to _help_ you,” Erwin urged.  “You aren’t going to be in trouble, but I can’t do anything if you won’t tell me the truth.” 

            “I don't _need_ your help,” Eren spat through gritted teeth.  “It’s _nothing._ ” 

            “So you don’t care if we have to give you back to the Military Police?” Erwin shot back, and instantly regretted it.  Eren stared up at him, eyes wide with what was unmistakably horror and rage.  Just as quickly, the boy realized his slip.  As Erwin watched, Eren struggled to regain control of his emotions, until finally his face crumpled and his whole body seemed to deflate.  He curled into a ball, hugging his knees tightly to his chest and hiding his face from Erwin. 

            “Eren, I’m sorry.” 

            No reply. 

            “I shouldn’t have said that.  You don't have to go back there again.” 

            Eren didn’t move.  Erwin had an unpleasantly certain suspicion that the boy was crying.  He wished very strongly that he had someone there to help him with this conversation, or, barring that, that an Abnormal Titan would suddenly materialize right there in the storage room and swallow him whole. 

            “I know it’s hard, but things can get better if you tell us what’s wrong.”  The words sounded empty even to him. 

            They sat there together in silence for what felt like an eternity.  Erwin thought of the first time he had talked to Eren after the trial, the look of awe on Eren’s face when he shook Erwin’s hand, the eagerness in his voice when they had discussed what his role in the Survey Corps might be, the way he had allowed Hange to ask him question after question about his Titan powers, until finally he had asked if he could take a quick break because he had these two friends he hadn’t seen since the trial ended, and they were probably worried-

            A thought.  “Eren, would you like to see your friends?”  

            A long pause, and then Eren raised his head and nodded very slightly, eyes red. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter all at once today, so I hope I didn't miss any big mistakes! Thank you for reading, and I'll try to have the next part up before too long. I think that this fic will end up being around four chapters.


	3. Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies again for the slow updates, though hopefully this time I've made up for it with a chapter that turned out to be kind of ridiculously long! Thanks as always for reading.

            They arrived less than an hour later, a dark-haired girl whom Erwin recognized as Mikasa Ackerman - one of the outstanding trainees of Eren’s year - and a small blond boy he vaguely recalled seeing together with Eren and Mikasa in the past. The boy introduced himself as Armin Arlert, with the air of someone who was anxious but doing his best not to show it. Mikasa cast a suspicious eye over everyone in her path, including Erwin. 

            Mikasa and Armin had been told that they were being brought to Eren, and it was clear that the hasty summons had been warning enough that something was wrong. He greeted them, saw that they were pointed in Eren’s direction, and then retired to his office. Turning his attention to his work, he tried to stop himself from spending too much time wondering pointlessly about what kind of conversation was going on in the underground storage room at the moment.

            More than an hour passed. It was enough time for Erwin to finally get the events of the last day out of his mind for a short time. When he heard the sound of someone rapping sharply on his door, he called for them to enter without looking up from his desk, expecting Levi or one of the other high-ranked officers. Only after his visitor remained silent for an unusually long time did he glance up.

            Mikasa Ackerman stood in front of his desk. She was standing at attention in a salute that would have satisfied even the strict eye of Keith Shadis. The effect was spoiled, however, by the visible tremor of her clenched fist and the barely concealed rage on her face.

            “Yes?” Erwin asked, keeping his voice neutral and pleasant, and mentally bracing himself.

            “What’s his name?” Mikasa asked sharply.

            Erwin opened his mouth automatically, but the reassurances and explanations he had been preparing ever since Eren’s friends had arrived had dried up and died on his lips. 

            Mikasa seemed to take his silence as confusion. “I want to know his name and rank, Commander. The one who…” Her voice trailed off in disgust, and she looked away. Erwin could tell that it was taking the girl an enormous level of restraint to control her emotions even this much.

            “I don’t know,” he said simply. “We haven’t been able to figure out who did it yet, and Eren won’t tell us.”

            “Eren doesn’t know,” Mikasa replied. The statement came automatically. Erwin could tell that this had been discussed at length during the last hour. “They changed his guards a lot, and he never learned most of their names.”

            So Eren _had_ been willing to open up to his friends. “What else did Eren say?” Erwin asked.

            “You don’t _know?”_ Mikasa asked, surprise making her self-control slip enough for the question to come out in a tone of voice that Erwin would never have tolerated from a trainee under normal circumstances.

            “We haven’t questioned Eren very much yet,” Erwin answered, the half-lie slipping smoothly off his tongue. “He only arrived here late last night, and he’s been through a lot.”

            Mikasa frowned, frustration and anger clear on her face. A moment of uneasy silence passed, and then she turned to stalk towards the door.

            “Wait, Cadet.”

            She stopped, with obvious reluctance. Her face was turned from him, but every muscle in her body was tight with tension. 

            “Sit down,” Erwin gestured towards the room’s other chair. Mikasa was looking at him now, but hadn’t moved.

            “ _Sit,_ Cadet,” he repeated.

            Mikasa obeyed wordlessly. Erwin could see that she was no longer taking such pains to hide her anger, or else she had simply lost the ability to do so.

            “What did Eren say?” he asked bluntly.

            Mikasa’s mouth was pulled into a tight line. For a brief, exasperated, moment, Erwin expected that she too would refuse to talk to him, but then she spoke.

            “One of his _guards_ ” – her voice was low, but contempt dripped almost palpably from the word – “has been hurting him. For days.”

            So everyone’s suspicions could be confirmed at last, Erwin thought. _“Days” she said_ , came a faint voice from the same small place in the back of his mind that still filled with dread every time a stack of casualty reports ended up on his desk _. That long, can you even imagine-_

            “Hurting him how?” he asked.

            Mikasa shifted uncomfortably in her chair, face darkening even more.

            “Did this person ever try to touch Eren, ah, inappropriately? Or try to make him do anything?” Sina, Rose, and Maria, this was _not_ his job, he had resigned himself to facing many unpleasant situations the day he became the leader of the Survey Corps, but trying to coax the details of an ugly sexual assault out of mistrustful teenagers had _not_ been one of them.

            And so he felt a perverse sense of relief when Mikasa spared him from having to attempt to press further and nodded mutely. She was wearing a dark red scarf wrapped around her neck, and had begun to toy distractedly with one of its ends.

            “Thank you for telling me, Cadet,” he said smoothly.

            “I want his name,” Mikasa repeated, voice flat. “If you don’t know, I’ll find out myself.”

            There was murder in her eyes. Erwin could feel himself beginning to get a headache again.

            “Cadet Ackerman.” Mikasa showed no sign of having noticed the cautioning tone his voice had taken. “I hope _very much_ that you aren’t thinking of doing anything unwise.”  

            Mikasa nodded in a manner that was probably meant to convey acknowledgement but failed to convince Erwin in any way whatsoever, and stood up, turning towards the door once more. This time, before Erwin could order her to wait again, Mikasa was cut off when another person pushed the door open from outside.

            “Hey, Erwin,” Levi said, sticking his head into Erwin’s office. “Are they still here? Because unless we’re some kind of shitty _daycare_ now-“ His eyes fell upon Mikasa, still poised to leave. “What are you doing in here?” he asked with a grimace of annoyance.

            “I was just talking to Cadet Ackerman…” Erwin cut in pointedly, “…About the importance of not acting rashly right now.”

            “ _Oh,”_ A look of understanding dawned on Levi’s face. He raised a skeptical eyebrow in Mikasa’s direction. “Don’t get any ideas, kid. You try any vigilante shit, and that’s it for you.”

            “I could do it,” Mikasa answered with savage certainty. “I could kill him before he even saw me coming. None of you could stop me.” It occurred to Erwin that the girl could very well be right, if the scraps of information he had heard about the current batch of trainees were anything to go by. Levi’s expression had become one of mild interest and consideration, and Erwin knew that the same thought had occurred to him.

            “Putting aside the fact that you just admitted to planning murder in front of two senior officers,” Levi said lightly, “If you _did_ manage that, you’d be done in the military. Maybe even done inside the walls. Eren too.”

            “Then we’ll go outside,” Mikasa shot back, gaze flicking back and forth from Levi at the door to Erwin at his desk.   “I’ll take Eren and go, and nobody will ever hurt us again.”

            Levi snorted. “That’s a nice daydream, brat.” He stepped out of the doorway, gesturing for Mikasa to leave. “We’re taking care of this. Don’t get involved unless you want to make things even worse for Eren.”

            For a second Erwin really thought Mikasa would try to hit Levi, so strong was the anger written on her face. Her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists, but remained at her sides through what looked like almost superhuman levels of self-control. “I’m not going to leave this to _you_ ,” she spat. “First the trial, and now…”

            “Hey,” For the first time, a note of serious warning entered Levi’s voice. “What I did at the trial worked _perfectly_ , and if you can’t understand that, ask Eren to explain it to you himself-”

            “I can’t ask Eren _anything_ , not now!” Mikasa burst out, voice high and as close to hysterical as Erwin had heard her so far. “Do you know what he’s…?” Her voice faltered, and her eyes were shining with tears. She dabbed hastily at them with the end of her scarf, took a deep, shuddering, breath, and then whirled angrily around to confront Erwin. “ _You_ let this happen, leaving him with them, not even letting us come _see_ him-!“

            Erwin had been content to let the exchange between Mikasa and Levi play out uninterrupted, but he reacted to the unfamiliar accusation without even thinking. “What?”

            “We went the very first day!” Mikasa was leaning over his desk, even the façade of obedience and respect long forgotten. “And they said that _Commander Erwin Smith_ ,” she spat his name like a curse, “said that Eren couldn’t have any visitors, and they made us leave! Armin thought we just had to wait until we could explain how we’re Eren’s friends, but I _knew_ something was wrong, I _told_ him…“

            _A new detail_ , Erwin mused grimly. “Cadet Ackerman,” he said, in the authoritative but understanding tone of voice usually reserved for surviving family members crazy with grief. Mikasa paid him no attention, overcome by regret and bitter, helpless memories. “ _Mikasa_ ,” he tried.

            The sound of her given name from such an unexpected source made her start in surprise. Wet and red-rimmed eyes met his.

            He had her attention again, and another chance to try and get ahold of the situation. “I never said that Eren couldn’t have visitors,” he said, placing emphasis on each word. “I don’t know anything about that.”

            Mikasa’s brow furrowed in confusion. “But the guard said-“ she started to protest.

            “Don’t you get it?” Levi cut in flatly. “Those MP shitheads were using Erwin as an excuse, and you believed it."

            Mikasa backed away from Erwin’s desk and sat heavily back down in the chair, understanding dawning on her face.

            “Mikasa,” Erwin said again. “Do you understand now? Whoever hurt Eren has been trying to keep us in the dark just as much as you. And I don’t intend to let it go on any longer.”

            She was hunched forward in the chair, hands twisting at her scarf so hard that Erwin was worried it would tear. Mikasa’s hair hid her face, but, just as with Eren not long before, Erwin had the instant understanding that she had started to cry in earnest.

            Levi shot Erwin a look that unmistakably said, _What now?_ Erwin responded with a pointed glance in the direction of the door. _Just for now._ Given how heated things had become between Levi and Mikasa earlier, it would probably be best for Levi not to be around for this part.

            The message was received, though Erwin was treated to a supremely skeptical and fed-up expression before Levi swung the door closed gently behind him.

            “It’s my fault.” Hopelessness, not anger, filled Mikasa’s voice now.

            Erwin glanced back down at her, slightly surprised. “Of course it's not." 

            “I should have gone to him, no matter what they said.” Mikasa said numbly.

            “There’s nothing you could have done.” 

            _There’s nothing anyone could have done_ , a nasty echo of Erwin’s own voice from another time and another hard conversation interjected into his thoughts. _Some casualties are unavoidable, sadly, but your son’s sacrifice won’t be in vain…_ He pushed the interrupting thought away.

            “Eren’s always been there for me,” Mikasa continued, sniffling. “He’s protected me, but I couldn’t…” she trailed off despairingly.

            “You can’t think like that.” Erwin urged gently. “It wasn’t your responsibility to prevent any of this.”

            A long sigh, and then Mikasa nodded shakily. “It wasn’t,” she agreed. She had raised her head enough to meet Erwin’s eyes again, and he could see that he had misjudged her. Mikasa’s earlier anger was far from gone. The silent accusation in her eyes burned at him like a brand.

            A long moment of uncomfortable silence passed. Then: “He said you didn’t care what happened to him,” Mikasa added, voice quiet but full of reproach.

            Erwin could almost have sighed himself, out of sheer frustration, if it hadn’t been many years since the days when he would have allowed himself such an unprofessional show of emotion in front of a much younger solder. “I understand that Eren‘s very upset right now…” he began “…But you can _assure_ him that even if he feels like that’s the case, I-“ 

            “No.” Mikasa interrupted. Her gaze was directed somewhere far away. “ _That man_ ” – the words were said much the same way that _Commander Erwin Smith_ had been not long before – “told Eren that. Eren said.”

            Erwin could feel his shoulders sag with the heavy weight of this new detail, unprofessional show of emotions or no.  
            
            Once he had recovered his composure again, he leaned across the desk, eyes fixed intently on Mikasa. “Eren _needs_ to talk to us,” he told her, voice low. “It’s crucial. He doesn’t want to say anything about it, but I won’t be able to get anyone to take this seriously without Eren’s own honest account of what happened.”

            Mikasa stared back at him silently. Erwin had the distinct impression that he was being evaluated, and was not entirely sure if he had been found sufficient.

            Finally, Mikasa nodded curtly. “I understand,” she told him, voice betraying only a hint of her earlier flood of emotions. She stood up, walked to the door, and then turned just before putting her hand to the doorknob, as if suddenly remembering something.

            “May I have permission to leave, Commander?” she asked politely.

            He nodded. There was nothing else he could tell her.

            He heard her footsteps grow fainter and fainter, heading back in the direction of the stairs down to the room where Eren was being kept. Twenty minutes passed. Erwin remained at his desk, though this time his work went ignored. At last, he heard the sound of someone knocking crisply on his door once more.

            It was Mikasa again. This time the other boy – Armin- was with her. He looked utterly worn out, and though his demeanor was just as polite as it had been when he arrived, it did not escape Erwin that his eyes, too, had a new bitterness in them when he looked at Erwin.

            “Eren says he’ll talk to you.” Mikasa said. “He said he doesn’t want us around for that, so we’re leaving now, but we’ll be back later.” There was the hint of a challenge in the last statement.

            “Of course.” Erwin answered evenly. “Thank you for everything, both of you.”

            They saluted neatly, and left.

            “I hate teenagers,” Levi said emphatically, glancing back in the direction the two had gone as he re-entered Erwin’s office. “Too much trouble.” 

            “Eren’s ready to talk.” Erwin said. “See that a message gets to Nile, he’ll probably want to have one of his people take a statement, and I don’t want to give him any more reason to say that we’re interfering with the Millitary Police.”

            Levi made a sour face. “I hate working with those lazy shits.” He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, expression now serious. “I hate this whole damn thing,” he added heavily.

            Erwin nodded.

 

-

 

 

            As Erwin had suspected would be the case, Nile insisted on coming himself, accompanied by another soldier whose job, it seemed, would be to provide a transcript of Eren’s claims for Military Police records. Erwin was grateful that it was only them, not just because it would be to everyone’s benefit to keep the investigation as inconspicuous as possible, but because having to talk in front of fewer people would make things easier for Eren. He hoped.

             The Survey Corps was represented by Erwin himself, and Levi. Erwin hadn’t ordered him to be present, and Levi hadn’t asked for permission. Instead, he was simply there, standing at Erwin’s side like his presence was a foregone conclusion, and eyeing the Military Police officers skeptically.

           “I hope you aren’t wasting our time, Erwin,” Nile muttered to him as they made their way down to Eren’s room. He was still in a foul mood, but so far had managed to be something close to civil with Erwin, a pleasant surprise given how things had gone the last time they spoke.

            Eren was ready for them. He had been told what to expect, and, though far from enthusiastic, seemed to be at least resigned to what was to come. The former storage room held only one chair and Eren’s makeshift bed, and for a second all four adults stood around awkwardly, before Nile’s subordinate, a youngish man with glasses whose name Erwin had either never learned or already forgotten, took the chair. He produced a notebook and pen from the bag he had brought with him, and cleared his throat with the air of someone who had done this many times before.

            “Good afternoon,” he addressed Eren.

            Eren nodded a greeting a little self-consciously, eyes flickering over his audience.

            “Are you ready to make a statement about the events of the last few days?”

            “Yes,” Even though Erwin could detect a hint of a tremor in the boy’s words, his voice seemed to echo in the otherwise completely silent room. Even the sounds of footsteps overhead were so muffled as to be barely audible.

            “An _honest_ statement,” Nile interjected testily.

            Levi shot him a look that could have curdled milk and opened his mouth as if to shoot back a rebuke, but before he could get a word out, Eren spoke again.

            “I know.” He was sitting up very straight, as formally as could be expected given the circumstances.

            “Very good.” Seemingly unbothered by his commander’s interruption, the man in the chair adjusted his glasses and brought pen to paper. “Your name?”

            Eren frowned slightly. “Everyone already knows my name,” he said, a hint of impatience in his voice.

            “It’s just a formality,” the man replied, not unkindly. “I need your name and age.”

            “Oh…Eren Yeager. Fifteen years old. Third-year cadet, Sir.” He added his rank without being asked.

            “Thank you.” A short pause, filled only by the faint and scratchy sounds of writing. “Eren Yeager…until early this morning, you were staying in a building controlled by the Military Police, under their protection, correct?”

            “Yes,” Eren’s gaze turned to Erwin. “I was supposed to be with the Survey Corps, though.”

            “Eren Yeager was in custody of the Military Police until the official documentation of his transfer to the Survey Corps was completed, according to standard procedure _and_ with the approval of the commander-in-chief,” Nile interjected, gesturing impatiently. “Go on.”

            “Do you talk this much every time you conduct an investigation?” Levi snapped. “Because sometimes I wonder why it takes you assholes such a long time to do anything, and that would explain a lot." 

            “Commander Dok is correct,” Erwin interjected, shooting Levi a warning look. “Unless Eren has anything he would like to add, let’s move on.”

            Eren shook his head, and then, before anyone could prompt him to speak, added “No,” quietly.

            “Describe what happened last night.”

            Eren swallowed. For one painful second, Erwin was sure that he would refuse to speak once more, but then the boy slowly began to answer.

            “I…I went to sleep a little bit after the sun set. Earlier he…” he gestured at Erwin “…Uh, Commander Smith had visited me.”

            All eyes in the room turned to Erwin. He nodded. It felt like things were proceeding with almost painful slowness, and he felt a sudden burst of understanding for Nile’s terse attitude.

            “Anyway, I think I was asleep for a while, because I don’t remember anything, until…” Eren trailed off, hands clenched in his lap. “Until I heard the door open. I think that must have woken me up.”

            “Do you have any idea what time it was?”

            Eren thought for a second, chewing his lip in a way that could have been due to either concentration or nerves. Or both, Erwin reflected. “No,” he said finally, shaking his head. “But it was late, I think. It was really dark. I couldn’t even see his face when he came in.”

            The pen came to a stop. “He?”

            “Oh.” Eren’s face had turned pale, and it was clear that he had said more than he had intended. “The…the soldier.”

            “How did you know he was a soldier?” Nile cut in skeptically. “If you couldn’t see him.”

            “I could tell he was wearing a uniform, and nobody else ever used that building anyway,” Eren shot back. Annoyance at being interrupted seemed to give him a brief burst of confidence, which faded away visibly with his next words. “And…I had seen him before.”

            “Where?”

            “At night. He was a guard outside my room, sometimes.” Eren answered reluctantly. “I didn't like him.” 

            “Why not?”

            “He was always…angry at me, or something. Calling me names, and stuff.” A resigned shrug. “I mean, lots of people do things like that, especially before the trial, but…” He trailed off again, staring at the ground. “I didn’t like him,” he repeated at last.

            “All right,” said the soldier taking notes. It was clear from the tone of his voice that they would return to the subject later. “What’s this man’s name?”

            “I don’t know,” Eren answered quietly. “Nobody ever told me and I never asked.” Mikasa had told Erwin the truth, it seemed.

            “And this man came into your room last night?”

            “Yes.”

            “And then what happened?”

            “I, um,” Eren was chewing his lip again. “I asked him what was going on, at first, and he told me to be quiet. To shut up.”

            He paused again. The room was absolutely silent, all eyes fixed on Eren. The sound of someone laughing loudly – Hange, it sounded like – floated faintly through the ceiling. It sounded as distant and indistinct as a noise heard while deep underwater.

            “He came towards me,” Eren continued finally, voice flat. “I was still asking him what was he was doing, so he hit me then. For the first time.” He gestured vaguely at his left cheek, as if in a daze.

            Out of the corner of his eye, Erwin could see Levi shift on his feet, his expression growing darker.

            “And then…” Eren suddenly brought both his hands up to rub at his face, in the manner of someone utterly exhausted. It was first sudden movement any of them had made for what seemed like an age, and all of the adults started, including Erwin. When Eren brought his hands away from his face again, his eyes were red and his mouth was pressed into a thin line, but the boy still appeared more or less stubbornly in control of his emotions. How long that would last, Erwin didn’t know.

            “Could…?” Eren suddenly asked, voice fading before he could complete the question.

            “Yes?” The tone of the soldier in the chair was neutral, even patient. Erwin hoped the man was being paid as well as he deserved.

            “Could he…could he go?” Erwin pressed on, voice wavering. “Just for now?” He waved one hand in a gesture that Erwin didn't quite grasp the meaning of at first. His gaze had automatically flicked to Nile at the boy’s words, but, to his surprise, he realized that everyone else in the room was turned towards him. 

            “You mean Commander Smith?” Eren’s interviewer supplied gently. Eren nodded, face growing red with what looked like frustration and shame.

            “Oh,” Erwin blinked, caught off-guard. “Well...someone from the Survey Corps should really…”

            “I’ll still be here,” Levi said, shrugging with a nonchalance that looked thoroughly forced. “That’s fine, right, Eren?”

            “Commander Smith will still be able to learn about anything you say here, given his position and role in this investigation,” added the soldier with the notebook. “Do you understand?” 

            Eren gave a small, wretched, nod.

            “Well.” _Couldn’t anything ever be simple,_ a shamefully unkind part of Erwin’s mind complained. He forced his mouth into the best version of an unconcerned smile he could manage under the circumstances. “If that’s what you want, Eren, of course.”

            Another nod.

            “All right, then,” Erwin concluded. “After you’re done here, make sure you see me before you leave, Nile,” he added. He turned and headed back up the stairs, uncomfortably aware that everyone was watching him leave.

 

            -

 

            Earlier in the day, Mikasa and Armin had ended up spending the better part of two hours with Eren. The representatives of the Military Police, plus Levi, finished their business in less than half the time.

            “This is a nasty business, I’ll tell you that much, Erwin,” Nile said afterwards in Erwin’s office. The commander of the Military Police had emerged from the underground room missing much of his earlier impatience. “There’s still lots of areas to investigate, we’ll be taking this kind of accusation against an officer very seriously, of course, but…” He shook his head, face dark. “…A nasty business. And it’s not as if we don't have enough on our hands already.”

            “I’m sure Eren’s sorry that he couldn’t have found out one of your men is a fucking sociopath _pervert_ at a more _convenient_ time, Nile.” Levi growled. He was in the worst mood Erwin had seen him in since the whole affair had begun, and Erwin could tell from a glance that the other man’s body hummed with the thirst for a fight. Erwin would never tell Levi that Nile’s words had crossed his own mind more than a few times already.

            It seemed that everything had gone just as Mikasa had promised a few hours earlier. Eren had told them everything, enough to fill more notebook pages than Erwin could quickly read. The sentences that jumped out at him as he flipped through the notes, however, gave him more than enough of an idea of what had happened.

            “Assault,” Levi spat the charges out one by one, counting them on fingers that he raised as vehemently as if they had been blades. “Assault, _sexual_ assault, attempted rape, endangering state interests, since this whole thing has fucked up the plans for Eren so much. That’s got to be treason, basically...”

            The man – most likely the guard on duty that night, though it seemed that nobody was completely sure at the moment – had been taking the chance to harass Eren for days. It had begun with insults and rough treatment, and escalated into the incident that had, just as Erwin had suspected, forced Eren into trying to transform in a desperate attempt to overpower an attacker bigger and more experienced than him. Knowing that his guess had been correct gave Erwin no pleasure whatsoever.

            Nile and the other Military Police officer went on their way, with the promise that they would return to review the details of the case or speak with Eren as necessary in the future. Erwin and Levi were left alone in Erwin’s office. The sun was still high in the sky outside Erwin’s window.

            “Levi.”

            “Yeah?”

            Erwin kept his voice firm and even. “Take the rest of the day off.”

            Levi glared at him in disbelief. “What?”

            “You’re too agitated,” Erwin replied. “Even if Eren does feel most comfortable around you, you’ve been doing too much. Find someone else to keep an eye on Eren for now, and take a break. That’s an order,” he added, before Levi could protest.

            “What about you?” Levi asked.

            Erwin didn't have an answer for him at first. With so much time spent focusing on whether or not Eren would open up to them, he had not put much serious thought towards what would happen after that. “I have lots of other things to take care of,” he said finally. “We can’t let our regular duties get neglected because of this. I’ll see to that, and then later I’ll look into finding out more about…about this person.” _That man_ , he heard Mikasa say. 

            Levi sighed deeply. He looked every bit as tired and frustrated as Erwin felt. Just before he walked out the door, he turned back to face Erwin.

            “I don’t know why Eren didn't want you there earlier,” he said. He sounded almost apologetic.

            Erwin had already begun to busy himself with one of the maps spread out on his desk. “It doesn’t matter,” he replied lightly, not bothering to look up. “As long as he was finally willing to talk to somebody, so we can make sure that this gets taken care of. I’ll probably check in with Eren later, after he’s had some time to himself.”

            “You should.”

            “I will,” Erwin assured, drawing a circle around a region of particular interest on the map.  

 

            -

 

            Erwin did not, he would reflect later, break his word. But after spending more than half the day dealing with Eren, work had piled up, and before he knew it, he was startled to realize that the room had grown dark.

            He did plan on seeing Eren then, anyway, but – “He went to bed a while ago,” Mike, the one who was keeping an eye on the boy at the time, told him. “I don’t think he’s actually asleep yet, though,” he added in a slightly lower voice. “So if it’s something important, then…”

            Erwin declined. Eren needed his rest, after everything he had been through.

            That night, even though he should have savored his first uninterrupted night in his own bed in several days, Erwin found that he had a hard time getting to sleep himself. A little more than an hour before the time when he would normally have woken anyway, he decided to give up hope of getting any more sleep that night, and got up. He shaved, dressed, and went outside.

            The sun was rising as he arrived at the place where the Military Police had kept Eren, the same place he had just been leaving at about the same time the day before. The frantic activity of the previous night had completely disappeared, and only the few soldiers whose duties compelled them to be there at such an early hour could be seen.

            As Erwin entered the building, one of the soldiers - a young woman who looked only a few years removed from her training days - recognized him with obvious surprise. “Commander Smith!” She glanced around briefly, as if hoping that someone more senior was available to handle the high-profile visitor, but there was nobody else nearby. 

            “Are you here to see Commander Dok? Because I’m afraid he won’t be in for at least another hour…”

            Erwin shook his head. “No, that’s all right.” In all honesty, he wasn’t really sure why he had come here, especially so early, but…A thought occurred to him. “Are any of the soldiers who usually work during the night around? The ones who were guarding Eren – the boy who can turn into a Titan – earlier?”

            Understanding dawned immediately on the young soldier’s face at the mention of Eren. “Since he’s not here anymore, they’ve been given different jobs. Also….” She paused for a second, as if unsure of how much information she should be sharing with Erwin. “...Since yesterday, they’ve been talking to everyone who was on guard duty for the last few days. Nobody’s said much about it, but…” Another pause. “It has something to do with what happened two nights ago, doesn’t it? When that boy almost transformed?”

            Erwin wasn’t sure how much of a secret Nile wanted the investigation to be, but there could be no harm in confirming what everyone was sure to suspect anyway. “Yes, it does."

            “Oh.” The soldier frowned, thinking. “Did…somebody do something wrong?” she asked uneasily.

            Erwin looked at her closely for the first time, searching her face for any clue that the woman knew something about what had happened. “I understand that your commander is investigating all possibilities,” he said.

            The soldier said nothing at first. Erwin could see her discomfort growing. “It’s just…”

            “Yes?” Erwin kept his voice light, doing his best to hide his interest in whatever was on her mind.

            “I heard one of the guards from the other night complaining the day before,” The young woman glanced around nervously before continuing. “Talking about how we shouldn’t be keeping that boy – Eren – alive, saying he was a monster, things like that…”

            Erwin nodded in understanding, keeping his face neutral.

            “Well, I offered to cover his shift, since he was so mad about it, but he said no. That’s the last time I saw him.” The soldier’s frown deepened. “He was so angry, though....”

            “What was his name?” Erwin asked her. She hesitated, and he knew that she was regretting saying so much. “It’s all right,” he added. “If this man was a guard that night, he’ll be asked about it anyway. And as long as he’s carried out his duties with no problems, he won’t be in any trouble.”

            “Meyer,” the soldier supplied, voice quiet. “Alfred Meyer.”

            He filed the information away for the next time he had the chance to speak with Nile. “Thank you.”

            “But…I really don't think he’s the person you’re looking for,” the woman added hurriedly. “We’re in different squads, so I don’t know him very well, but I can’t believe he’d do anything wrong. I know I said he was angry earlier, but lots of people have been talking like that. We still do our jobs, all the same.”

            “I understand,” Erwin assured her. “Thank you anyway. And even if nothing comes of it, I’ll make sure this conversation stays between us.” The young soldier looked visibly relieved at that.

            “Did you have a message for the commander?” she asked.

            “No.” He turned to leave. “Let him know I stopped by, if you like. I’ll get in touch again before long.” His own subordinates would be expecting him soon, and he had the feeling that the visit had already proven as productive as it was likely to be.

 

            -

 

            The first thing he did when he entered the Survey Corps building was go downstairs to the room where Eren was staying. Eren was eating breakfast, and looked up in surprise when he saw Erwin, setting his food aside. 

            Erwin sat down in the room’s only chair, gesturing for Eren to remain at ease when it looked like he was wondering whether or not he should get to his feet.

            “Good morning, Eren.”

            “Hello, Commander,” Eren replied, somewhat apprehensively. Erwin sensed that the boy was wondering what he was doing there.

            Erwin thought for a second, choosing his words carefully before he spoke. “I want to thank you for the other day,” he said at last.

            Eren blinked in surprise, and Erwin could see his body tense up. “ ‘S no big deal,” he replied slowly.

            “You were very brave.” Erwin said.

            Eren had turned his head away from Erwin, but Erwin could still see enough to notice that the boy’s face had turned red. “Anyway, it’s over now,” Eren muttered finally. _So stop talking about it_ , came the unspoken but obvious end to the statement.

            Erwin could take the hint. “Before long, we’ll be able to get to work like we planned,” he continued, changing the subject to something he expected Eren would find more enjoyable

            Eren shrugged, looking unconvinced. “Yeah.”

            The boy’s unenthusiastic response caught Erwin by surprise. “Is there a problem with that?” 

            “Oh…no!” Eren shook his head hastily, and Erwin knew that he had noticed Erwin’s surprise. “No, Commander.”

            It felt like there was something else going on, something that Erwin couldn’t quite understand. “Eren...” An unpleasant thought came to mind. “Nothing like this will ever happen to you in the Survey Corps, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

            “I know.” Something was still bothering Eren.

            “Do you still want to join the Survey Corps?”

            “I don’t have a choice, do I?” Eren replied. There was a faint touch of bitterness in his voice.

            Erwin couldn’t disagree with that, but he pressed on. “Still, if you have any concerns, I’d like to know.”

            “No concerns,” Eren shook his head. He wasn’t looking Erwin in the eye. _Is it always going to be like this?_ Erwin wondered wearily.

            “You still want to use your abilities to fight the Titans, don’t you?” 

            “Of course!” Eren answered, suddenly more animated than Erwin had seen him in the last several days. “I’m gonna kill them all, no matter what it takes.”

            Erwin smiled. “Good.”

            “Yeah. Probably…” Eren was watching Erwin out of the corner of his eye now, and his next words were guarded. “Probably even if I didn’t join you guys, I could still do that. I mean, not that that would happen.”

            Stubborn as Eren was, it was clear that hiding his true feelings was not one of his strengths. “Really?” Erwin asked lightly, hoping that if he kept Eren talking, he could get to the bottom of whatever was on the boy’s mind.

            Eren nodded, with some pride. “Nobody else can do what I do, right?” he explained. “We were able to stop more Titans from coming through the hole in the wall last time thanks to me. I could still help humanity, even by myself.”

            “So imagine what you could accomplish together with some of our best soldiers,” Erwin commented carefully.

            Eren shrugged again. “Yeah.” He sounded utterly unconvinced.

            “You’d like working alone?”

            “It’d be fun,” Eren replied. His mouth spread into a small smile as he lost himself in his thoughts. “Out there, seeing the whole world…Mikasa and Armin could come with me, of course, nobody could get in our way like that…”

            _That’s a nice daydream_ , thought Erwin.

            He got to his feet. “That does sound fun, Eren,” he said. “I’m glad that you’re so enthusiastic about fighting the Titans. And I'm glad that you’re doing well.” Even if the first part of the statement lacked conviction, his last words were completely sincere. “I’m going up to my office now, but please let me or any other officer know if there’s anything you need.”

            “All right, Commander.” It was clear from Eren’s voice that Erwin’s words had left him unconvinced. Unconvinced of _what_ , Erwin didn’t quite feel like he understood. “Goodbye.”

            Erwin climbed back up the stairs, leaving Eren to finish his breakfast alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -I searched for the names "Alfred" and "Meyer" in relation to AoT, and the only results I came up with were Hetalia crossovers, so...hopefully I have successfully avoided having an OC with the same name as someone in canon!
> 
> -The use of the word "daycare" is....maybe a little anachronistic? But I feel like it's not too much out of place compared to what I've seen in canon/fandom in general, so.
> 
> -I've seen many different interpretations of Erwin's character (all very interesting!), but for the purpose of this fic, at least, I guess I'm interpreting him more as just "represses the shit out of any doubt/guilt about the negative consequences of his decisions" than "natural sociopath". 
> 
> -It's established in the series that Mikasa is basically a HUGE PRODIGY, so I figured it wouldn't be too unlikely for Erwin to have at least some vague knowledge of her at this point, even though (iirc) they've never met.
> 
> -Despite the nature of the prompt, I didn't really want to have the entire Military Police be portrayed as pure evil, so that's kind of what's going on in this chapter!


	4. Part Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The time between updates just keeps getting longer, I'm ashamed to say, but the chapters keep getting longer too! Thank you to everyone who's read and supported this fic, and I hope the ending doesn't disappoint. 
> 
> I'm not sure if this is even noteworthy, given the fandom, but this chapter includes a very brief description of gore.

 

           The next afternoon found Erwin at his desk again. The papers demanding his attention this time were the final pieces of documentation regarding the men and women who had been slaughtered during the special expedition earlier in the week. News of the mission’s failure had reached the Survey Corps only a few days earlier, but to Erwin it seemed as if it had been years ago.

           One more piece of paper stuck out from underneath the neat stack of death certificates. It was a short message that had been delivered to Erwin just as the sun was beginning to set the evening before, by a messenger who had clearly been told to be as quick and discreet as possible. In Nile’s tight script, the details of the arrest of one Alfred Meyer were recorded in a few terse sentences. It seemed that Nile had followed up on the information Erwin had relayed to him not long after his trip to the Military Police building earlier in the day, and had apprehended Meyer as a person of interest in the investigation.

            A brief description of Alfred Meyer himself accompanied the message. He was a soldier of relatively low rank, despite being around the same age as Erwin and Nile. The record of his time in the Military Police held nothing particularly impressive, but also lacked anything that could be seen as suspicious or troubling.

           In short, Meyer appeared to be a completely unremarkable man. When he first read Nile’s message, Erwin had felt a brief burst of dismay at this realization. With no evidence other than the concerns of the soldier Erwin had spoken to the other day, and the fact that Meyer had indeed been the guard present when Eren had attempted to transform, it could be difficult to convince anyone that the man was really capable of the kind of heinous behavior Eren had described.

           At least a little good had come out of the situation, however. Nile seemed to be doing his part in the investigation, despite their earlier clash. And no matter how the incident was resolved, Erwin could at least be assured that there would be no change to the trial’s decision. The Survey Corps was cleared to use Eren’s abilities to help humanity in whichever ways they saw fit, at least as far as the higher-ups within the military were concerned.

_Eren, himself, though…_

           But he couldn’t control Eren’s feelings, he told himself. It was unfortunate, certainly, if Eren’s enthusiasm for helping the Survey Corps had been dampened by his ordeal, but there was an endless stream of more pressing and deadly problems for Erwin to solve. As long as the boy was alive, everything had worked out for the best.

           Erwin’s train of thought was cut off when the door to his office swung open. “Are you busy?” Levi asked from the doorway.

           “Not particularly. What is it?” Preparations for the next attempt at venturing outside the walls had yet to begin, and he hadn’t heard received any news related to the search for Eren’s attacker since Meyer’s arrest. Unless some new crisis had occurred…

           “We’ve been thinking about taking Eren outside today.” Levi pushed the door open a little further and “we” was revealed to include Hange, standing behind Levi. Eren was there too, watching Erwin with no particular expression on his face, and Erwin was only slightly surprised to see Mikasa and Armin beside him. Eren’s friends had been a near-constant presence since their first visit, and though it wasn’t really appropriate for a couple of trainees to be going in and out of the Survey Corps headquarters unchecked, and most likely neglecting their own training into the bargain, nobody had gotten around to ordering them to stay away.

           “We’ll have to wait until Eren’s moved somewhere further outside the city to start exploring his abilities seriously,” Levi continued. “But there’s a place not too far away where it shouldn’t cause a problem even if something does end up happening.” Hange nodded emphatically. There was a notebook in her hands, and Erwin had the distinct impression that nothing would please her more than if something ended up happening. 

           Erwin nodded in approval, attention already starting to shift back to his paperwork. “That’s a good idea. Eren deserves to get some fresh air. Just make sure to keep a low profile, we can’t afford to have any more doubt about the safety of having Eren in the Survey Corps right now.”

           “We were thinking that you should come with us,” said Levi.

           Erwin looked back up from his work. In the doorway, Levi was giving him a very pointed look. “You don’t need me for something like that,” Erwin answered, raising his eyebrows. “And you certainly seem to have enough people already.” He saw Mikasa frown, as if unsure whether this was a veiled complaint about her and Armin’s presence. The girl had been the picture of respect the few times she and Erwin had crossed paths in the last two days, but Erwin could tell that her feelings towards him hadn’t improved, not that it bothered him.

           “It’d probably be good,” Levi persisted. “Since this is the first time taking Eren somewhere since…” Through the doorway, Erwin could see Eren freeze. “…Since the trial,” Levi finished. Eren’s shoulders sagged in visible relief. Erwin found that he felt much the same way.

           “That’s not necessary,” Erwin said lightly. “I trust that you and Hange should be able to handle any situations that might arise, and there’s no reason for so many senior officers to be gone at the same time.”

           “ _Erwin_.” Levi made a noise of exasperation. He stepped forward as if to close the door behind him in order to argue with Erwin in private, then glanced behind him at the rest of the group and appeared to think the better of it. “I think,” he said finally, putting emphasis on each word, “that this is an _important_ matter, and you should give it your _full attention_.”

           A heavy pause. Four sets of eyes were on Erwin. The exception was Eren, who was gazing at something off to the side, brow furrowed, in the same way that had marked most of his interactions with Erwin over the past few days.

           Erwin gave in. “All right then,” he said, getting to his feet and flashing a tight imitation of a casual grin at Levi and the others. “Let’s go.”

 

-

 

           Despite his reluctance, Erwin soon found the outing putting him in better spirits than he had been in for days, even though four out of five of his companions were avoiding him. Levi was obviously still annoyed, though why Erwin’s presence had been so important to him was still a mystery. Eren, Armin, and Mikasa, as expected, kept to themselves. Only Hange was in a sociable mood, and spent quite some time treating Erwin to a detailed explanation of her recent experiments involving two captured Titans.

           It was a clear and sunny day, and the clearing that they had arrived at after a long ride – in a patch of woods a decent distance away from the city – was vibrantly green, tranquil except for the occasional bird song. Erwin couldn’t remember the last time he had been somewhere like it without being miles away from the walls with at least one Titan coming towards him at a deadly pace. Despite Levi’s insistence that Erwin come along, there was absolutely nothing for him to do, which meant that he could simply enjoy the moment, even though the neglected work back in his office nagged at him slightly.

           Even Eren and his friends seemed to be slightly more at ease than Erwin had seen them for the last several days, which was unsurprising. Eren had been essentially locked up in one place or another since the battle at Trost had ended, not to mention everything else that had taken place during that short amount of time. And if things hadn’t changed since Erwin’s own days as a cadet, it had probably been quite a while since Mikasa and Armin last had a chance to relax. Strictly speaking, Erwin should have refused to let them come along – their unexplained absence from training would certainly be noticed – but he couldn’t bring himself to feel too bad about it, especially when Eren let out a brief burst of laughter in response to something Armin said.

           After a while, the conversation between the three of them drifted to the topic of Eren’s recently discovered abilities, and to the surprise of nobody (and the barely concealed glee of Hange) it became clear that Eren was going to try to transform.

           Eren got to his feet, moving a safe distance away from where Armin and Mikasa were still sitting on the grass. After spending so much uninterrupted time with his friends, free from reminders of all he had experienced recently, he seemed more like the Eren Erwin had first met than ever before, confident and excited to test his unique power.

           He raised his hand to his mouth, preparing to bite himself in the way Erwin had heard Eren had done before to activate his transformation. Eren glanced briefly over at the adults, as if expecting someone to stop him, but received only a disinterested shrug from Levi. Even though everyone had officially agreed that it would be best to wait until later to explore Eren’s Titan abilities, their location was remote enough that even the steam from a transformation was unlikely to be noticed, and Erwin, Levi, and Hange had all brought their gear and a set of blades.

           Erwin felt a shiver of anticipation run down his spine. Until very recently, he had thought that he had seen it all during his many years rising through the ranks of the Survey Corps, but nobody had even dreamed that someone like Eren Yeager could exist until now. Erwin was most likely seconds away from watching a human being become a giant, powerful, Titan, something that had horrified many of those present at Trost. It was his first time witnessing Eren’s transformation with his own eyes. It would also be Eren’s first time attempting a transformation since the incident several nights earlier.

           Eren took a deep breath, steeling himself, and then sunk his teeth into the side of his hand with a force that made everybody wince.

           Nothing happened.

           Eren immediately tried again, and one more time, before Armin and Mikasa both called for him to stop.

           “I don’t know what’s wrong,” Eren said, frowning as he stared at the self-inflicted bite marks on his hand, which were already beginning to fade. “I didn’t do anything different before.”

           “Are you sure?” Ever the scientist, Hange had quickly reached Eren’s side, notebook open and pencil poised. “Can you think of anything unique about the circumstances the other times you transformed? What were you doing right before it happened?”

          "I don’t know,” Eren said again, sounding disheartened. “I can’t remember anything special, I didn’t even have to think about it then…” He suddenly bit his himself ferociously one last time (“ _Eren_ ,” protested Mikasa and Armin), with no result, before giving up.

           There was the sharp rasp of metal against metal to Erwin’s side, as Levi slid his partially unsheathed blade back into place. “Well, so much for that,” Levi muttered.

           “He doesn’t know how to do it every time…” Erwin mused aloud, nodding. They hadn’t considered that possibility. It would complicate plans to incorporate Eren into future Survey Corps expeditions, though Erwin also privately wished that anyone who saw the boy as a deadly threat to those around him could see him now, unable to even use his own power as he wished.

           “Well, this is still new to him, isn’t it?” Hange had come back to where Erwin and Levi were standing, brow furrowed in thought. “Maybe he needs practice. Not to mention the possible impact of the stress he’s been under lately…”

           As if on cue, an argument seemed to have broken out on the other side of the clearing. “I _said_ , I can do it!” Eren was saying loudly. “Why do both of you always have to worry so much?”

           “We’re not worried,” Armin assured him, rather unconvincingly. “It’ll be fine, whether or not you figure this out.”

           “I _will_ ,” Eren muttered. He was scowling darkly, in a way that had become unpleasantly familiar to Erwin over the past few days.

           “Armin’s just saying that you’re safe no matter what, Eren,” Mikasa added seriously. “No matter what happens, I won’t let anybody hurt you.”

           Her earnest words seemed to only worsen Eren’s mood. “I can protect myself,” he growled. 

           Mikasa’s mouth flew open, as if she was about to speak, before she closed it just as quickly. Too late. Eren jerked back, hurt in his eyes, and it was clear what he imagined that she had been about to say.

           “ _I can protect myself_ ,” Eren spat once more, face flushed.

           “She didn’t _say_ anything, Eren,” Armin implored. “Calm down.”

           “Hey,” Hange said in a low voice, shooting Erwin and Levi a look. “Think we should do something?”

           Levi ignored her, watching the three cadets intently with an unreadable expression on his face. Erwin knew Hange had the right idea, that the conversation between the teenagers was headed nowhere good, but he was unable to look away from Eren as the boy jumped his feet, glaring down at his friends.

           “I’m stronger than either of you.” Eren’s hands were clenched into fists, shaking so much that Erwin could see it even across the clearing. “ _Nobody_ is going to hurt me or any of you, all right? Not a Titan, not – not _anybody._ If they try, I…” One hand was slowly rising. Erwin could feel the hair on the back of his neck standing up. “ _I’ll kill them.“_

           “Eren!” Hange called, voice sharp with apprehension. “Hey, wait-“

           There was a sound like a clap of lightning, and steam filled the clearing, so thick that Erwin lost sight of the others. The last thing he seen - Eren sinking his teeth into his own hand one final time - was branded into his thoughts, and his mind had slipped quickly and cleanly into crisis mode. He was already reviewing the situation: three experienced soldiers, including himself – good, two unarmed cadets – very bad, it had really been heinously bad judgment to let Mikasa and Armin come along, he was realizing that all too late, and one…

           “Shit.” Levi’s voice, coming through the quickly thinning steam somewhere nearby, sounding more impressed than urgent.

           Looking up, it was now possible for Erwin to make out Eren, or what he was fairly sure was Eren. He couldn’t see or hear the boy anywhere else, so logically the thing _had_ to be him, even though what Erwin was looking at now didn’t match any of the descriptions he had received from those who had seen Eren’s Titan form at Trost.

           The creature that loomed over them, coming just slightly below the tallest trees around the edge of the clearing not only didn't match Erwin’s expectations, it didn’t even look much like any Titan he had seen in his life. It was a mess of improbable-looking muscle and bone, so haphazardly constructed that sunlight could stream down through it in many places, casting a bizarre pattern of light and shadow over the ground. It was unmistakably something built for battle – the teeth that protruded from the skull-like head, each roughly as long as Erwin’s arm, were jagged and sharp, and the eyes gleamed dangerously. However, Erwin’s initial burst of icy certainty that all five of them were about to die was tempered somewhat when he realized that the thing wasn’t moving. He wasn’t sure if it even _could_ move, so unstable it appeared to be  

           The creature’s – _Eren’s_ – jaw flopped open, emitting a strangled groan and another burst of steam. Erwin could hear birds crying in alarm, the sound growing distant as all other living things fled from the unnatural thing that had suddenly appeared in the clearing. The visibility on the ground had gotten good enough for him to see Hange and Levi both a short distance away, and Armin and Mikasa, chillingly close to Eren’s gigantic, bony, feet. Everyone appeared to be mercifully uninjured.

           Levi stepped forward, drawing both blades in earnest this time. “Eren,” he said loudly, voice deadly serious. “Do _not_ move, understand? If you can hear me, I want you to stay _exactly_ where you are while we cut you out of there. And you,” he turned his attention to the two cadets. “Get away from him.”

           Mikasa and Armin hesitated, their reluctance to leave Eren clear even as they both glanced uncertainly up at the thing looming over them.

           “Sina’s _tits_ ,” Levi swore in exasperation, drawing closer. “If you two little idiots don't get over here _right the fuck now_ , I’m going to-“

           But they never found out what Levi was going to do, because just then the thing Eren had become gave another unearthly groan, and then its legs and arms slowly began to crumble. Chunks of bone and flesh rained down, many dissolving into steam before they even hit the ground. The remains of the head and torso landed with a heavy thud, narrowly avoiding Levi. Enough of the body had been eaten away that Eren himself was becoming visible, embedded face down in the back of the neck, with strips of muscle grotesquely binding his own body to the creature’s.

           Levi moved in, all business, and swore again when heat from the dissolving body prevented him from coming too close. Luckily, it was mere moments before Eren’s condition had progressed enough for Levi to safely cut at the places where Eren remained attached in a few effortless motions, not even needing to use both blades. He let Eren fall away from the massive body. Erwin could see no injuries, but the boy seemed barely conscious. It was something that would fit what Erwin had heard about Eren’s past transformations.

           The last pieces of the misshapen Titan that Eren had created disintegrated completely, as if made of ashes. The clearing was as sunny and idyllic as it had been earlier, though it was now eerily silent. The entire episode had taken minutes at most. Erwin realized that he hadn’t moved the entire time. Nearby, Hange was scribbling feverishly in her notebook.

           “Think it’s time to call it a day,” Levi deadpanned. He glanced down at Mikasa and Armin, who had rushed to Eren’s side. “If he can’t sit up, he rides with one of you two on the way back. I don’t even want to know what kind of Titan filth he’s probably covered with.” Levi examined his blade with a suspicious eye and grimaced. “Disgusting.”

 

-

 

           “So, what did you think of all that?” Levi asked pointedly, later that day.

           Their return had been uneventful and thankfully inconspicuous. Eren, still groggy from the massive amount of energy he had apparently used during his transformation had been put to bed, Mikasa and Armin had been firmly ordered to leave, and Hange had excitedly gone to share the afternoon’s observations with her squad. Levi and Erwin were alone in Erwin’s office. The late afternoon sun was low in the sky outside, filling the room with reddish-orange light.

           “I think you handled the situation very well,” Erwin replied evenly, shuffling through the stack of neglected documents on his desk. “It could become problematic if Eren’s transformations are really so unpredictable, but no one was hurt. It was…startling, to be sure.“ That was putting it mildly, that impossibly giant body that had appeared out of nowhere, staring down with so much rage in its eyes and something else, too, something that had looked like pain so strong it had left Erwin paralyzed… “But I don’t think we’ll have to worry about Eren’s powers too much, especially if we take appropriate precautions. I still don’t understand why you wanted me to be there so badly.”

           Levi was standing in front of his desk, arms crossed. “I wanted you to see him. You’ve barely had anything to do with him lately.”

           Erwin frowned, setting aside the papers to focus on Levi more directly. “That’s not true. I’ve been more involved with his case than anyone else in the Survey Corps, and Eren knows how to contact me if he needs anything.” True, he hadn’t gone to see Eren since their unsatisfying conversation the previous morning, but that could hardly be considered neglect.

           “I'm not talking about his damn _case_ , I'm talking about _Eren_. You don’t know what he’s been like,” Levi replied. Erwin found himself remembering his first encounter with Mikasa. “The kid’s been bottling everything up for days, it was only a matter of time before something like what we saw out there today happened." 

           “I have _work_ to do,” Erwin said. He could feel his own sense of frustration growing by the second. “Eren’s only one part of what’s going on here, and I don’t have time to be watching him every second. And as a matter of fact-“ he moved one folder of documents neatly into a desk drawer, closing the drawer with just a little bit more force than necessary – “Neither do you. We have to make sure Eren’s secure for now, but there’s no need to be hovering over him. I expect that you aren’t letting this distract from your regular duties,”

           “ _Eren_ is one of my duties,” Levi shot back. “He’s one of yours now, too, or did you forget that?”

           “I haven’t forgotten anything. Eren’s alive, he’s safe, and his abilities are going to help us bring new hope to humanity. That’s what’s important.”

           Levi stared at him in silence for a moment, disgust on his face. “That’s cold, even for you,” he said at last, shaking his head and turning away from Erwin’s desk.

           “If you have something you want to say, say it,” Erwin snapped. 

           “Eren is _traumatized_ ,” Levi spat, whipping back around to face him. “You know what that sick fuck did to him, and you know he’s different now, don’t act like it has nothing to do with you.”

           “There are soldiers his age under my command _dying_ with every mission, Levi.” Erwin pushed the stack of death certificates he had been examining many hours earlier across the desk. “We have a duty to everyone, not just Eren. What do you want me to do? I’m not saying I feel good about…about what happened to him, but-“

           “You can’t say it,” Levi interrupted incredulously, throwing up his hands in frustration. The last time Erwin had seen him this agitated was after Levi had finished listening to Eren’s account of what had happened to him the other day. “I can’t believe it. You act like you’re so fucking _professional_ about all this, but you can’t even say that Eren came this close to getting fucking _raped_ by someone who was supposed to be guarding him, while he was supposed to be under _our_ damn protection in the first place.”

           Erwin was on his feet by now. He found himself fighting back the automatic urge to slap the other man as if he was a mouthy young soldier overstepping his place, something that hadn’t happened between him and Levi for almost longer than Erwin could remember.

           “ _Coward_ ,” Levi hissed through clenched teeth, staring up at Erwin.

           A loud knock came from the door. Erwin and Levi both started.

           “Enter,” Erwin called, after taking a brief second to quickly compose himself once more. Levi did the same.

           It was Mike, who eyed them both in a manner that suggested that Erwin and Levi had gotten heated enough to be heard from outside the room. “Message from Nile,” Mike said, waving an envelope sealed with the Military Police insignia.

           Erwin took it and thanked Mike, who left, keeping any questions he might have had mercifully to himself.

           It was another brief update, much like the one Erwin had received earlier informing him of Meyer’s arrest. According to Nile, while Meyer had confessed nothing, he had indeed been on duty at the time of Eren’s attempted transformation, and it seemed increasingly certain that he was the man they were looking for. It was Nile’s opinion that the next step was to arrange an opportunity for Eren to get a look at Meyer – under very secure conditions, he emphasized – to see if Eren would identify the man as his attacker. 

           After reading the letter, Erwin handed it to Levi, who took it from him in silence. Mike’s interruption had cooled them both down significantly, and Levi appeared nowhere near as furious as he had been only minutes before.

           Levi read the letter twice, then folded it up and tossed it on top of the various papers covering Erwin’s desk. “Not bad,” he said begrudgingly. “Looks like Nile came through after all.”

           “Can you find out how he wants to arrange for Eren see this man?” Erwin asked him, sinking back into his chair and reaching for a pack of matches. It had grown dark by now, and it was time for Erwin to light the lamp at his desk if he was going to get any more work done that day. He thought of Levi’s earlier words. “Unless you think it would be better for me to…”

           “No, I’ll take care of it,” Levi shrugged, taking his own seat on one of the room’s other chairs. “You do what you have to do.”

           “Levi…” Erwin paused, searching for the right words. Dimly lit by Erwin’s lamp, Levi looked old and tired. Erwin was sure that he himself looked no better. “I’m sorry,” he said at last. “We need to work together if we’re going to get through this. Us, and Nile, and everyone else who’s trying to find the person who did this to Eren.”

           “Don’t apologize to _me_ ,” Levi muttered testily, eyebrows raised. When Erwin said nothing, he sighed. “I’m sorry too. You’re right, we have plenty of other things to worry about, I just…” Levi paused for a second, mouth pulled into a bitter line. “Feels like shit, you know?” he said finally. “You and I both know there’s already plenty of nasty shit out there waiting for Eren, waiting for all of them. Something like this shouldn’t be part of that.”

           Erwin nodded. “I know.” 

           They sat together in silence for a while. Erwin had picked up a pen, but found that he couldn’t quite push himself to begin working again.

           “I think Eren’s not sure how to handle it, being around you,” Levi said suddenly. “I’m pretty sure that…that Meyer bastard, or whoever it was, told him some shit, like he got stuck with the MPs because nobody cared what happened to him or something. And Eren’s not quite as stupid as you’d think with some of the shit he does, but brats like him take that kind of thing too damn seriously.”

           Erwin could think of nothing to say.

           “Not to mention I’m pretty sure he’s…ashamed,” Levi continued. His words were blunt, but his gaze was troubled and distant, lost in his own thoughts. “To be around anybody, even those brats he calls friends. Doesn’t even want to think about any of what that fucker did to him, so he can’t stand that it’s become some big thing that everyone has to know about because of who he is and how it happened. That’s how you feel, when shit like this happens. It doesn’t go away easily.”

           Erwin closed his eyes. “I see.”

           Levi looked as if he was going to continue talking, but appeared to decide against it and shook his head tiredly, getting to his feet. “Anyway, I’ll work something out with Nile, “ he said. “I’ll let you know how things go.”

           “Thank you, Levi.”

           Levi shrugged. “Go to bed soon,” he said as a goodbye, closing the door behind him.

 

-

 

           That night, Erwin dreamed about the creature from that afternoon. The thing Eren had transformed into in the clearing was crumbling into pieces again, with only its head remaining intact. In the dream, Erwin was caught halfway inside the thing’s massive jaws, unarmed, unable to do anything but watch as the teeth he had noted earlier sank into his abdomen and back, dying his uniform red as he was bitten in two in a manner that was almost leisurely. He struggled to call for help, but when he turned his head, the only person he could see was Eren, human Eren, standing nearby and watching Erwin with wide eyes. When Erwin begged him to help, Eren just shook his head. “I can’t do anything,” the boy said, looking forlorn. Before he could say anything else, Erwin felt his spine snap as the creature bit down harder, and then he was jerking awake, covered in sweat and unable to go back to sleep for more than an hour.

 

-

 

           Levi handled the arrangements for the next step of the investigation perfectly, not that Erwin would have expected anything else from him. Not a day had passed before a handful of rather uneasy-looking soldiers from the Military Police arrived to escort Eren to the place where Alfred Meyer was being kept. Luckily, by that point Eren had already more or less recovered from his exertions the day before. It seemed that Eren would be given the chance to see Meyer at a distance, without Meyer realizing that he was being observed, in the hopes of minimizing the likelihood of a confrontation. Eren was still taken away with his hands in chains, a precaution that Erwin wasn’t entirely happy with, even though after seeing Eren transform the previous afternoon he could understand more than ever why it was probably for the best. Levi went with him, looking extremely put-upon by the entire affair, though it didn’t escape Erwin how Levi saved his most caustic words for the few occasions when a soldier snapped at Eren or treated him roughly.

           They returned after only a short amount of time had passed. From his office, Erwin could hear the sound of several sets of hurried footsteps going through the building and down to Eren’s room, as well as the sound of Levi snapping an order. Then there was silence again, and about ten minutes later Levi pushed Erwin’s door open enough for Erwin to see him nod, face grimly triumphant.

           Erwin nodded back. “How did Eren do?”

           Levi winced briefly, gaze flitting in the direction of the stairs to Eren’s room. “He controlled himself. I wouldn’t try to talk to him about it right now, though.”

           “Understood.”

           “Nile wants you to come over later.”

           “All right.” The last formalities regarding the failed mission from earlier in the week had been taken care of, and it would have been easy for Erwin to find time to meet with Nile even if situation hadn’t been of such importance. “Will you come too? Whatever he wants, it’ll probably be best if more than one Survey Corps representative is present, and you have a better understanding of everything that’s happened than anybody else.”

           “Sure.” If Erwin’s recognition of his involvement in Eren’s case had made an impact on Levi, the man hid it well.

           “I think that we’ll be finished with all of this very soon,” Erwin told him. While he was still unsure about what the rest of the day would bring, he at least felt more confident about that statement than he had about all his other assurances over the past few days put together.

 

-

 

           When Erwin and Levi arrived at the same Military Police building Erwin had visited several times during the last week, they were brought to a small room deep inside the building. Rather like the place where Eren had been kept at first, it could not quite be called a cell, but was obviously designated for people who had, for whatever reason, caught the Military Police’s eye. Waiting in the room was Nile, a couple of soldiers clearly on guard duty, and a man seated at a table in the center of the room, whom Levi confirmed in a low voice was Alfred Meyer.

           Meyer appeared just as unremarkable in person as he had on paper, and Erwin knew he would never have given the man a second thought had their paths crossed under different circumstances. He was somewhere in his thirties and slightly shorter than Erwin, with thin brown hair and a slightly heavyset build. Erwin lacked a particularly high opinion of the fighting abilities of most military police officers, but, he observed, Meyer looked big enough to overpower a boy of Eren’s size, especially with surprise working in his favor. His stomach turned at the thought, and it was then that he finally noticed something distinctly unusual about Meyer’s appearance. The man’s hands and feet were both in chains. 

           Despite this, Meyer didn't appear to be particularly bothered by his circumstances. When Erwin and Levi entered the room, the look on his face as he glanced up at them revealed only mild surprise, and nothing more desperate or sinister. “What’s this?” he asked, turning to look at Nile. “The commander of the Survey Corps, coming to see me?”

           “Officer Alfred Meyer,” Nile answered, without looking back at the man. “The Military Police is continuing to investigate your role in the incident that occurred while you were guarding Eren Yeager, four nights ago. As the Survey Corps has possession of Eren, Commander Smith and his men play a crucial role in this investigation.” His voice was firm and emotionless, and his words seemed to be more for Erwin and Levi’s benefit then Meyer’s.

           “I’ve been saying, this is all a mistake,” Mayer said, eyeing Erwin and Levi as if sizing them both up. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

           “As you know, Eren has stated that he was abused over a period of several days while he was in the custody of the Military Police,” Nile continued. “He identified you.”

           Meyer’s face twisted into a scowl at this, the first time Erwin had seen him look truly bothered. The sour expression quickly disappeared, leaving the man looking as unbothered as could be expected from someone in his circumstances. “It’s not surprising that he knows who I am,” Meyer answered. “I certainly spent enough time on guard duty outside his room.” He leaned towards Nile once more, chains clinking. “Commander, please put an end to this. That little monster is making up lies to try and condemn an innocent man for doing his job.”

           Erwin must have looked startled at the man’s words, because Meyer turned to look at him, a defensive expression on his face. “I’m not the only person who talks about him like that, Commander Smith, and I won’t hide it. Nothing good’s going to come from keeping something like him around, and I don't care what got decided at your trial. _But_ ,” he insisted, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

           To his side, Erwin saw Levi’s mouth twist in distaste at Meyer’s words.

           “Other officers have stated that they saw you treating Eren roughly in the past,” Nile countered. “For example, two days before the incident in question, you were seen shoving him around while you were supposed to be escorting him back from the bathroom…”

           “An entire courtroom saw _him_ kicking that little Titan in the head, I hear,” Meyer interrupted, gesturing at Levi as much as the cuffs on his wrists would allow. “I don’t see anyone asking him questions.”

           “Watch your fucking mouth,” Levi hissed, staring at Meyer with open revulsion in his eyes.

           “ _Officer Meyer_ ,” Nile warned. “You’re hardly in the position to be questioning anybody at the moment-“

           “I know how it is,” Meyer continued coldly, ignoring Nile’s words. He met Levi’s angry gaze unflinchingly. “All you martyrs in the Survey Corps think you’re above the rest of us regular soldiers, but you can’t drag the rest of the military along with whatever crazy plan enters your heads. You should have let that boy be killed.”

           “So you thought you’d take things into your own hands, is that it?” Levi shot back, leaning over the table like a mad dog straining at a leash. Levi was smaller by far than Meyer, but there was a predatory glint in his eyes that Erwin knew all too well, and he wondered for the first time whether asking Levi to accompany him had been wise. “Didn’t have the balls to kill him, but you could sure do your best to make his life hell, right? And have some fun while you’re at it, you sick piece of shit.”

           “You can’t prove I did anything like that,” Meyer answered. It was clear that he, too, was starting to struggle to control his temper, though the look on his face was smug. “All you have is _his_ word for it, and even if that monster’s got the Survey Corps twisted around his finger, it won’t mean anything if you’re seriously hoping to…to take _me_ to court, or whatever it is you even have planned.”

           “You say _we_ think we’re above everybody else?” Levi was livid. “On the streets out in the real world men like you get a knife in the back, none of this official bullshit you think you can hide behind-“ Nile’s men began to step forward, as if to restrain Levi. Before that could become necessary Erwin grasped him by the elbow, gently but firmly pulling him away from Meyer. The other man was appealing to Nile urgently.

           “Did you hear that? He threatened me, Commander, this is unbelievable-“

           “Shut up,” Nile interrupted him. He stepped over to where Erwin was still holding Levi by his arm, lowering his voice. “Levi, if you’re going to get this worked up, you should leave. You aren’t going to help us if you can’t control yourself.”

           Levi scowled blackly, shrugging out of Erwin’s grip and opening his mouth as if to snap a retort, but Erwin spoke first. “All right, Nile. Levi, go wait outside.”

           “ _Erwin_ ,“ Levi hissed, jerking his head in the direction of where Meyer still sat, watching the three of them intently.

           “It’ll be fine,” Erwin said, meeting his gaze evenly. “I can deal with this. Wait for me.”

           Levi stared at him for a second, searching Erwin’s face intently and then turned towards the door as ordered. “Fine,” he muttered, before pulling the door closed behind him with enough force to make the doorframe rattle.

            Erwin and Nile turned their attention back to Meyer. The man appeared to have gained something of his earlier composure, though there was now something distinctly ugly in the way he stared back at them.

            “Alfred Meyer,” Nile said tersely, looking down at Meyer with an expression Erwin imagined he usually reserved for the lowliest criminals. “Do you admit to the charges against you?”

            “I said, you have no proof-“

            “ _Do you admit to the charges?”_ Erwin echoed Nile, coming to glare down at Meyer from the man’s other side. Meyer met his gaze defiantly, though he seemed to be lacking some of the cockiness he had displayed during his exchange with Levi. Erwin supposed that he found having the commanders of two branches of the military breathing down the back of his neck to be a slightly more daunting sight than an angry Levi on the other side of a table, even though anyone could have told Meyer that he was lucky things had only gone so far earlier.

            “Let me tell you something, Commander Smith,” Meyer said at last. He adjusted his position in his chair, gazing bitterly at the chains confining him for a brief moment, before continuing. “My sister had two sons, both fine boys. Fine soldiers too, each of them only a few years out of training and eager to do their part to serve humanity.” 

            Erwin kept his face impassive. He had stories like this countless times before, and knew with cold certainty that this one would end the same way all of the others had.

            “They were there when the wall broke at Trost, while you and your _Survey Corps_ were off on some mission or another,” Meyer continued. “Out trying to get yourselves killed like suicidal idiots outside the walls, while young soldiers like my nephews were defending the rest of us.” Meyer stared off into the distance in silence for a moment, brow furrowed. “Nobody ever found the older one, you know,” he said at last. “One of his friends made it out alive and told us he saw him surrounded by Titans, but there wasn’t a single trace of him left afterwards. Maybe that’s for the best.”

            Meyer glanced back up at Erwin, studying his face as if see the impact his story had left. If he had been hoping to see Erwin unsettled or thrown off-guard, he was disappointed. “I’m aware of the cost we paid at Trost,” Erwin commented evenly. “Eren and his friends fought too, did you know that? They weren’t even finished with their training yet.”

            “Everybody knows about _that_ ,” Meyer answered, making no attempt to hide the bitterness in his voice. “Kind of hard to miss him, wasn’t it?”

            “Eren was risking his life, just like all the other soldiers there.”

            Meyer spat on the ground, grimacing. “That _monster_ is no soldier,” he said, glaring back up at Erwin. “He’s not even human.”

            “He closed the hole in the wall,” Erwin reminded him. He had known that many people, both inside and outside the military, had misgivings about Eren, but he was still taken aback at just how much hate and distrust this man seemed to have for the boy. “If he hadn’t been there, who knows if any of us would still be alive?”

            “It’s just some new trick the Titans have figured out,” Meyer continued grimly. “We still don't understand anything about them after all this time, how can you be so sure they can’t pretend to be human?”

           When Erwin failed to respond, Meyer pressed on triumphantly. “How do you even know that thing didn’t kill any of our own men, in all the chaos? They’re saying he tried to attack one of his fellow trainees after he transformed, right in front of everyone! You’ll end up destroying us all if you insist on keeping him around.” 

           “You’re not here because Commander Smith wants your _advice_ ,” Nile snapped, bringing Meyer’s attention away from Erwin.

           Erwin said nothing, running the man’s bitter words through his mind. As much as Meyer disgusted him, Erwin would have been lying if he said he hadn’t heard the same sentiments from other people many times in the days since Eren’s power had become known. Similar thoughts even had floated through Erwin’s own mind once or twice, even as he had dedicated himself to the goal of incorporating Eren into the Survey Corps with the same resolution with which he faced each new expedition, no matter the odds. He thought of the reports he had heard about how uncertain Eren’s dependability had seemed to be at times during the struggle to reclaim Trost, of the burst of raw terror that had momentarily electrified him just a day earlier, when he witnessed with his own eyes what had surely been just a small part of what Eren was capable of.

           He thought of Eren with Mikasa and Armin gathered tightly around him, Eren shaking his hand after the trial with the same awed look Erwin had seen on many a young cadet encountering him for the first time. 

           Eren four nights ago, chained up like a criminal for what they now all knew had been an attempt at self-defense. Eren turning away from him, trying so hard not to let Erwin see him cry.

           “You’re wrong,” Erwin said, even as the rational part of his mind knew that Nile was right, that the last thing Erwin had to do right now was justify his decisions to this man, that letting Meyer drag him into an argument would accomplish nothing. “Eren’s not like that, and he didn’t deserve anything that you did.”

           “I didn't do anything that made a difference to a monster like that,” Meyer sneered. “I saw it myself, everywhere he bruised it was healed again in minutes.”

           Erwin’s hands had squeezed into fists at some point, unconsciously. He forced them slowly back open, jaw clenched. 

           “But that’s even better for you, isn’t it?” Meyer was still talking. “At least you’ll be able to use him a few times, since he doesn’t break like us humans do.” His mouth was pulled into a thin, bitter, line. “So you want us to waste our time taking care of that _Titan_ , while honest soldiers like my sister’s boys get slaughtered doing their duty-“

           “You had a duty too.” Erwin felt cold, but at the same time there was a strange energy coursing through his body. It felt like being out beyond the walls, a blade in his hand and a Titan bending towards him. “You betrayed your orders. You betrayed Eren.”

           “ _I put that creature in his place,”_ snarled Meyer. “Titan scum, just waiting for his chance to turn on us-“

           “He’s a _boy!”_ Erwin shouted. “A soldier like you and I, and you…you _violated_ him- _”_

           “ _Erwin_.” Nile’s voice, sharp and urgent enough that it made Erwin look up in surprise. Everyone else in the room was staring at him, varying degrees of surprise and alarm on their faces.

           Looking down, Erwin saw his own hand locked onto Meyer’s shoulder, gripping so tight that he could feel his fingers sinking deep into his flesh. Erwin couldn’t remember when he had grabbed the man. Meyer was staring up at him wide-eyed, leaning away as if preparing for a blow.

           He let go, letting Meyer twist free to put as great a distance between them as his chains would permit. Erwin was breathing hard, and when he brought his hand that had touched Meyer up to wipe it against his jacket, he saw that his fingers were shaking slightly.

           “Excuse me,” Erwin said, putting every ounce of his self-control into keeping his voice tight and emotionless. “Unless you really need me here, Nile, I’d like to leave now. I’m sick of being around this monster." 

           Nile nodded, looking as if his job had just been made much simpler. “I’ll see that you’re kept informed.”

           “Thank you, Nile.” Erwin nodded back, and turned to go, without looking at Meyer again.

 

-

 

           Levi was waiting. “They kick you out too?” he asked when Erwin emerged.

           “I decided it was time for me to leave.” Outside of the small room, the air felt refreshingly cool. Erwin took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly. “I lost my temper for a moment,” he added at last.

           “I heard,” Levi said simply, eyebrows raised. His curt reply betrayed little emotion, but Erwin had known Levi long enough to detect the hint of approval in his voice.

           Even as he calmed down, Erwin could feel the confrontation with Meyer eating away at the back of his mind like a poison. Despite the revulsion that Eren’s abuser filled him with, Erwin could already tell he would be remembering a few of the man’s accusations again, the next time a mission proved especially fruitless or a new stack of death certificates found its way to his desk, a new voice in the chorus of hopelessness and doubt that never quite went away.

           Erwin would handle that himself, whenever the time came. There were more important things to think of now.

           He turned to Levi, gathering his thoughts. “Let’s go. We’ve got our own work to do.”

           Levi nodded, matching his stride with Erwin’s as they walked out of the building.

 

-

 

           By the time the sun had begun to set that evening, Erwin was tidying up his desk and preparing to leave. The rest of the day had been productive – he and some of his squad leaders had begun to plan the next large expedition outside the walls, and it had been confirmed that the Survey Corps could soon expect a new batch of soldiers fresh out of training. Erwin had little doubt that Mikasa and Armin would be among them, as well as many of the others in Eren’s training squad who had made it through Trost alive. There would be more preparations to take care of in the days ahead, but for today, Erwin felt ready to get a good dinner and retire to his quarters early for the first night in weeks.

           Just as he was finishing up, there was a knock at the door. “Visitor for you,” he heard Levi say loudly from the hallway.

           Erwin straightened, setting aside the stack of papers he had been in the middle of sorting. “Come in.”

           He had expected it to be one of his officers, or maybe even someone bearing a new message from Nile, but it was Eren who entered his office. Behind him, Erwin had a brief glimpse of Levi, giving Erwin a significant look before pushing the door shut, leaving Eren and Erwin alone.

           It was the first time they had met in Erwin’s office. Erwin could see Eren’s gaze flicker over his surroundings, and the boy stood awkwardly near the doorway as if unsure what to do with himself.

           Erwin gestured to a chair. “Good evening, Eren. Sit down.” Eren did as he was told, sitting stiffly with his hands balled into fists in his lap. He seemed cautious, but Erwin was relieved to see that, at least for the time being, there was no sign of the anger and pain that had marked his interactions with Eren so much over the past several days.  

           For a while, Eren said nothing, studying Erwin carefully. Erwin let him take his time, turning his attention back to his desk without pressing Eren for the reason for the visit.

           “Corporal Levi said I’m going to leave soon,” Eren spoke up. “He said I’m going to go somewhere with him and his squad.”

           “That’s right.” The arrangement was something that Erwin and Levi had planned since the trial, and it was long past time to move Eren into a more appropriate location, a place where he could get fully accustomed to life with the Survey Corps, and his power could be tested in earnest. “You must be excited.”

           “Yeah,” Eren agreed, flashing a smile. It lasted for only a second, but it was bright and uninhibited, and for a moment Erwin thought he saw the toll the past week had taken on the boy melt away. “I’m going to be working with some really elite soldiers too, everyone says Corporal Levi’s squad is the best of the best.”

           “They are indeed,” Erwin said, giving Eren a smile of his own. It was good to hear the boy speak excitedly about his place in the Corps, something else that told Erwin that maybe he could dare to be optimistic about where things would go from here.

           Eren nodded enthusiastically, but added nothing else. Another silence fell over the room. Erwin busied himself once more, though when he caught a glimpse of Eren’s face he could see that his brow was furrowed and his gaze distant, lost in thought.

           Just as Erwin was about to gently ask Eren if there was anything else he had wanted to say, the boy spoke again. His voice was quiet, and his earlier enthusiasm was nowhere to be seen. “Corporal Levi said you met him,” Eren muttered. He wasn’t meeting Erwin’s eyes. “The man who…”

           “I know.” Erwin said smoothly, when Eren trailed off. He paused for a second, wondering what approach would be easiest for Eren. In the end, he decided to stick with the facts. “I was asked to come in and see him, so we could be aware of the way that the investigation is proceeding.”

           “Oh.” Eren’s gaze flicked briefly up to Erwin’s face, as if searching for something, and then away again. “Do you know what’s going to happen now?” he asked finally.

           “Not exactly,” Erwin answered honestly. “Nile – Commander Dok - will handle most of what comes next, I think.   But…” he swallowed, hoping against hope that this conversation could continue without upsetting Eren too much. “We’ll make sure he get what he deserves. Everyone knows what…what he did.”

           Eren nodded very slightly. If Erwin’s had reassured him, it was impossible to tell. His face held only grim resignation, and Erwin knew that the sense of relief he had felt when Eren had smiled earlier had been premature. _It doesn’t go away easily_ , he heard Levi say.

           Another pause. Eren was watching him as if he wanted to say something else, but at last he stood up. “That’s all, Commander,” he said. “I’m sorry if I bothered you.” He saluted somewhat awkwardly and turned to leave.

           Erwin watched him walk towards the door, wondering if he had said the right things, wondering if anything he could possibly say would begin to make up for what Eren had endured over the past few days.

           Eren’s hand was on the doorknob, pulling the door open to reveal a glimpse of the shadowy hall outside.

           “Eren!” Erwin called out.

           Eren started, dropping the doorknob as if it burned and turning to look at Erwin in utter confusion.

           “Come back here, please.” Erwin’s palms were sweaty. He wished Levi was there to help him with this, but at the same time, he already knew what Levi would tell him to do. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

           Eren slowly returned to his seat, searching Erwin’s face with obvious trepidation.

           “I’m sorry.” Erwin got the words out before he could overthink them, before he could let himself worry about the fact that he had absolutely no idea how he was going to approach the rest of this conversation.

           Eren blinked. It seemed to take a moment for him to fully comprehend Erwin’s words, and as he did, a strange mixture of confusion and discomfort dawned on his face. “For what?”

           “For all of this,” Erwin answered.

           “You didn’t do anything.” Eren said, sounding guarded and frowning at Erwin as if unsure whether or not he was making a joke.

           “You’ve been part of the Survey Corps since the minute the trial ended,” Erwin explained. “You were my responsibility, and I should have done more to make sure you were safe.” 

           Eren took a deep, shaky, breath. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said. He was still frowning incredulously, but his voice wavered. In his lap, Erwin could see the boy’s hands trembling. “And it’s not a big deal anyway, really.”  

           “The way that man hurt you was inexcusable.” Erwin made sure that he was looking Eren squarely in the eye, even as he could see that Eren becoming more and more uneasy. “I want you to know that I wish I had been quicker to realize what was happening, and I wish I had done more to make all this easier for you. And I wish I had made all of this clear from the beginning.”

           Eren gasped once more, wet and ragged. He ducked his head, but not before Erwin noticed that his eyes were bright with tears. Erwin waited, letting Eren attempt to regain control of his emotions.

           “I’m sorry, Commander,” Eren mumbled indistinctly after a while, still turned away from Erwin and rubbing at his face with both hands.

           “You don’t have to apologize for anything.” Erwin said firmly. “You don’t have to stay any longer, either. I’ve told you everything I wanted to say.”

           Eren nodded shakily, getting to his feet. His face was flushed and messy from the tears he had struggled so much to hide, but he was able to at least meet Erwin’s eyes as he turned to go once more. Just before opening the door, Eren paused again, turning to look back at Erwin. 

           “Yes?”

           “I thought…“ Eren hesitated, struggling for words. “I mean, he said all kinds of things while he was…while he was hurting me, and it was so _stupid_ , but I still…” He trailed off again, chewing on his lip. 

           “It’s alright.” Some sickly curious part of Erwin did wonder exactly what Eren had been told. Maybe someday Eren would be able to share them with him, and Erwin would be able to make it clear just how wrong Meyer had been, but Erwin would not push Eren tonight. It had been difficult enough to get this far.

           “I’m excited to see what the Survey Corps will be able to accomplish with your help, Eren,” he said instead. “This is the next step forward, for all of us.” He made himself smile confidently, and found that it came easier than it had in quite some time.

           Eren turned even redder, eyes widening. For a second, Erwin worried that he had said the wrong thing, that Eren’s struggle with his emotions was still too tenuous to receive praise.

           Then Eren’s shoulders sagged as if relieved of a heavy weight, and he smiled for a second time. His eyes were still red and watery, and he looked as if their conversation had left him utterly exhausted, but he smiled all the same, meeting Erwin’s gaze squarely. “Yeah!” he agreed, and then, a little belatedly: “Thank you, Commander.”

_See if he’s still thanking you after his first time outside the walls,_ a small, cynical, voice in the back of Erwin’s mind whispered. He pushed it aside, for now. “Good night, Eren.”

           Eren nodded. “Good night, Commander!” He stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. Erwin could faintly hear the sound of Levi’s voice, admonishing Eren for taking so long with words devoid of any genuine sharpness.

           Erwin remained at his desk for a few minutes, unmoving, all of the events and uncertainties and difficult conversations of the past days playing through his mind. Finally he stood, gathering his things and preparing to go. Looking back would accomplish nothing now. The days and weeks to come would bring what they would, pain, or failure, or maybe even victory.

           Erwin would face it all as best as he could, and so would Eren.     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A few last TL;DR thoughts can be found at [my new tumblr for fanfic stuff.](http://the-naomin.tumblr.com/post/84928640744/kannibale-final-chapter-thoughts))


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